Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond yesterday said she has done “nothing illegal” and will continue right to sit in the National Assembly since she did “all that is within her power” to renounce her American citizenship before she was sworn in as a Member of Parliament (MP).
“…I am confident that I have done everything that was in my power to act morally [and] that the attempt to demerge my character has not gone unnoticed by the public. I am convinced that I have full legal right to sit in the National Assembly and that I have done nothing illegal and that I will continue to sit in the Assembly as a legal representative,” Walrond told reporters on the sidelines of an event held at the Marriott Hotel yesterday morning.
While stating that she does not want a trial in the public on the matter since it is currently engaging the court, Walrond reiterated that she embarked on the renunciation process prior to taking the oath of office. “As an attorney, I am cognisant that this matter is now engaging the court so I will refrain from speaking too much on the legal arguments,” she said.
According to Walrond, the fact that she received her renunciation certificate after being sworn in cannot support the argument that she was illegally sworn in as an MP.
“My position has been – and always has been – that the act of renunciation is one that is a unilateral act when a citizen has done the legal standard, when a citizen has done all within her power to renounce, which is what I did on the 18th by paying my fees… a quite substantial amount of fees, which is over $500,000 on the 27th August. All of this before I swore in. And, the legal standard is that the citizen has done all within her power to renounce which is what I did,” Walrond explained.
The main parliamentary opposition APNU+AFC has argued that Walrond was still a citizen of the US when she took the oath of office as an MP on September 1st.
Walrond had publicly stated that she had renounced her United States (US) citizenship since August 27th before taking the oath of office as an MP on September 1st and had subsequently received the Certificate of Loss of Nationality.
Her certificate of renunciation, a copy of which was released by Parliament Office, bore an approval date of September 8th, while also indicating that Walrond voluntarily performed the act of expatriation to relinquish her US citizenship on September 4th—after she was already sworn as an MP. She took the oath of office of a Minister of Government on August 5th.
When questioned about this, Walrond maintained her stance. “I repeat that the legal standard is that the citizen ought to have done all that was in her power to renounce, which is what I did by indicating to the Consular on the 18th of August that I have renounced. I was informed that there is an administrative procedure that I have to follow in order to receive my certificate, which is what I received on the 4th of September,” she explained.
There is a constitutional prohibition on dual citizens being eligible for election as members of the National Assembly, although Walrond’s status as a technocrat minister has seen legal arguments suggesting that the provision would not apply in her case. It has also been suggested that if the provision does apply to her, she could simply resign and take the oath of office again.
On Wednesday, APNU+AFC filed an action in the High Court against Walrond, seeking a declaration that she was illegally sworn in as an MP.
In his application filed against Walrond, the Attorney General and the Speaker of the National Assembly, APNU+AFC Chief Whip Christopher Jones is asking the court to grant declarations not only that Walrond is an illegal member of the 12th Parliament but that she was also unlawfully appointed a minister of government.
The coalition has called, among other things, for Walrond’s immediate resignation even as it asks the court to order the Speaker of the House to prevent her from sitting in and or participating in the business of the National Assembly.
