The APNU+AFC administration is still to decide on the candidates from its National Top Up List who will replace its four dual citizenship parliamentarians who have resigned, according to sources who also confirmed that President David Granger has met with one of the coalition’s partners.
Earlier this week, government announced that People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) members Carl Greenidge, who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State Joseph Harmon; Alliance for Change (AFC) member Dominic Gaskin who is the Minister of Business; and Working People’s Alliance (WPA) member and Public Service Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine were resigning from parliament.
The move followed rulings handed down by the High Court and the Guyana Court of Appeal which affirmed that dual citizens are not eligible to sit in parliament in keeping with Article 155 (1) (a) of the Constitution. That provision states, “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who is, by virtue of his or her own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.” The rulings came subsequent to cases filed in court challenging the passage of a no-confidence motion against the APNU+AFC government.
It was subsequently disclosed that the ministers, with the exception of Gaskin who is British born, will renounce their foreign citizenship. Roopnaraine and Greenidge are the holders of British passports, while Harmon is a US citizen.
Sources told Stabroek News yesterday that while government is still working on replacements, Granger has met with a WPA representative with respect to finding a replacement for Roopnaraine. Based on the information provided to this newspaper, one of the three remaining WPA persons on the list – party Chairperson Tabitha Sarabo; Desmond Trotman, who a government-nominated Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) commissioner, and University of Guyana lecturer Rishee ‘Thakur’ Srithackoor, is likely to be Roopnaraine’s replacement.
The AFC has said that Branch Manager for the National Communications Network (NCN) in Berbice, Donna Mathoo, is one of several of its members under consideration to fill Gaskin’s seat.
It would appear that the replacements for the two PNCR members are much more difficult to select given the large number of PNCR candidates on the list. Sources told this newspaper that Aubrey Norton’s name has been touted but no definitive decision has yet been taken.
One source pointed out too that much time should not be wasted with choosing replacements as the new parliamentarians will only be filling the vacant seats created by the resignation of the four and will not be given any ministerial positions.
Government, in a press release on Tuesday, said that following the courts’ rulings, Granger had sought Cabinet’s advice on how to definitively address the status of Members of Parliament (MPs) who hold dual citizenship.
Consequently, the four Government MPs who were also ministers submitted to the President their resignations from the House.
On reviewing this development, Cabinet described the action by the ministers as politically correct and as a demonstration of their respect for the rule of law. It was acknowledged that while the Constitution strictly bars a person who holds dual citizenship from being an MP, they are not precluded from remaining in government service. This is a matter to be addressed by the President who will finalise ways in which the four resigned MPs will serve in government, the statement had said.
Parliament was set to be reconvened on April 11th but this has since been pushed back. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, in a televised statement, would only say that the sitting will be rescheduled for “later in the month.”
The government, in its statement, had said too that as is the usual practice, the portfolios of the four would now be held by
sitting members of Cabinet who previously acted for these ministers when they were on leave or out of the jurisdiction.
This, Stabroek News understands, is still being worked on. Usually, Harmon would assume Greenidge’s responsibilities in his absence. Though it is unclear what will happen now that both of them have resigned, this newspaper was told that some consideration may be given to Dawn Hastings-Williams, the Minister of Public Affairs, particularly with respect to Harmon’s responsibilities.
