Georgetown: The Court of Appeal has affirmed Chief Justice Roxane George ruling that there was no evidence before the court which suggests that expelled Alliance For Change (AFC) parliamentarian, Charrandass Persaud knew he was disqualified from being a member of the National Assembly owing to him being a dual citizen of Guyana and Canada.
Sitting on the panel of Judges were Chancellor of the Judiciary Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Justices of Appeal Rishi Persaud and Dawn Gregory, who yesterday, delivered individual rulings in three matters which originated after the passage of the No-Confidence Motion in the National Assembly on December 21, 2018.
Like the Chief Justice, the panel of Judges said that their findings were based on Article 155 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Guyana which states, “No person shall be qualified for election as a member of the National Assembly who is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.”
According to the Chief Justice, there was evidence before the court that Persaud identifies himself as a Guyanese/Canadian.
Justice George had reasoned that Persaud became a citizen of Canada when he took the oath of allegiance, “I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance To Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen.”
The rulings by the Judges were in response to an application filed by private citizen Compton Reid who had asked the High Court to quash the No-Confidence Motion against the government on the ground that Persaud, who voted with the Parliamentary Opposition, has been a Canadian citizen for almost 20 years.
In support of this contention, Reid, through Senior Counsel Neil Boston, submitted that Persaud is the holder of a valid Canadian passport No. AC773625 issued by the Government of Canada on October 25, 2017, which will expire on October 25, 2022 and was a replacement of the previous passport No. JX818124, which was issued to him on January 29, 2013, and expired on January 29, 2018.
The panel agreed with the Chief Justice who ruled that Persaud’s “yes” vote on the no-confidence motion against the government is valid, since it was safeguarded by the provisions set out in Article 165 (2) of the Constitution.
According to that Article, “The Assembly may act notwithstanding any vacancy in its membership … (even) after any dissolution of Parliament and the presence or participation of any person not entitled to be present or to participate in the proceedings of the Assembly, shall not invalidate those proceedings.”
Dismissing arguments by Boston, who described Persaud as a usurper, a person who takes a position of power or importance illegally or by force, Justice Persaud said that such an argument may be subject to review since there are reports of other parliamentarians holding dual citizenship, a concern, which he said, is now being addressed by political parties.
The Chief Justice in her ruling had declared that by swearing allegiance to another state, a dual citizen is not eligible to be elected to serve in the National Assembly. The ruling, she said, is applicable to other persons holding dual citizenship in the National Assembly.
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