As there continues to be much debate on the dual citizenship status of Members of Parliament (MPs), it has now been confirmed that Alliance For Change (AFC) executive member and Business Minister Dominic Gaskin is a born Briton.
AFC Vice Chair Cathy Hughes, at a press briefing on Wednesday, pointed out that no current parliamentarian of the party has dual citizenship, but in the same breath, said that Gaskin was born in UK.
“The AFC wishes to advise that none of its 11 MPs have sworn allegiance to any foreign state. Ten of the party’s MPs are citizens of Guyana only; the other MP, Minister Dominic Gaskin, was born in the United Kingdom… The issue of renouncing citizenship does not apply to Guyanese who were born in another country. Therefore, Mr Gaskin constitutionally sits as a duly elected MP without any hindrance or issue,” Hughes said.
Gaskin is also the son-in-law of President David Granger.
Since the December 21, 2018 passage of the No-Confidence Resolution, which saw former AFC MP Charrandas Persaud voting in favour of the Opposition-sponsored motion that went on to topple the Coalition Government, there has been much debate about the resolution.
In fact, Government supporter Campton Reid has asked the High Court to determine whether Persaud’s vote on the No-Confidence Resolution was valid, given the fact that he dual citizenship status; that is, he’s both a Guyanese as well as a citizen of Canada.
After facing reported death threats hours after the historic vote in the National Assembly, Charrandas flew to the North American country, where he currently resides.
However, it has since been revealed that Persaud was not the only MP with dual citizenship. In fact, four senior Government ministers have been reported to have dual citizenship as well.
Among those who have sworn allegiance to other countries are: State Minister Joseph Harmon, who is also a citizen of the United States of America (USA); Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, a citizen of the UK; and Public Service Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, also a Briton. These are all members of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) faction of the coalition.
However, when probed on this during Wednesday’s press conference, Hughes directed questions to its majority coalition partner.
Meanwhile, the matter involving Persaud’s dual citizenship was heard on Tuesday, and acting Chief Justice Roxane George has since committed to a ruling by month end.
