Change Guyana Prime Ministerial candidate Nigel Hinds yesterday withdrew from the ticket citing his dual citizenship and a likely medical condition he learnt of in November last year.
Hinds issued the statement after social media reports about his name not being on his party’s Nomination Day list on Friday.
Contacted yesterday by Stabroek News, Hinds confirmed that he was a dual citizen and he later issued a statement to the public. He told this newspaper that he had begun the process to relinquish his US citizenship but had not followed through because of the medical condition that developed.
“I am a citizen of United States and had started the process to relinquish my citizenship to that country but it was not followed through due to medical reasons”, Hinds told Stabroek News. He said the medical condition developed after he and businessman Robert Badal had announced the formation of the party.
His public statement yesterday said:
“To my friends and supporters, it is with much sadness and disappointment that I now withdraw as a Candidate to represent Change Guyana as the Prime Ministerial Candi-date, due to my current dual citizenship status and likely medical condition that I learnt of in November of 2019.
“I was hoping that subsequent diagnostic tests would be favourable. However, the prognosis requires further medical intervention that is best done in the United States, where I’m also a citizen.
“Guyana’s Constitution under Article 155 does not allow a dual citizen to be elected as a member of the National Assembly.
“My commitment and involvement in the campaign to have Robert Badal elected as President of Guyana in General Elections scheduled for March 2, 2020 and to propel Change Guyana Party into becoming the leading political platform for all Guyanese, remains undaunted.
“As a co-founder of Change Guyana, I will continue to do my utmost to ensure we keep working to unite Guyana towards a multiethnic, multicultural and multiracial society that focuses on inclusive and accelerated economic and social development across our beautiful country”.
Hinds yesterday faced criticism on social media as to why he would even accept being the prime ministerial candidate for Change Guyana when he knew that as a US citizen he would be ineligible to enter Parliament. He had not disclosed his US citizenship prior to yesterday.
Dual citizenship came to the fore last year after the current government challenged the validity of the no-confidence motion vote of former MP Charrandass Persaud on the ground that he was a dual citizen. The courts upheld that it was unconstitutional for MPs to hold dual citizenship and MPs on both sides of the House tendered their resignations. Several of them have since renounced their foreign citizenship and are therefore now eligible for admittance to Parliament.
