Records released by Parliament Office yesterday showed that Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce Oneidge Walrond was still a dual citizen at time she took the oath of office as a Member of Parliament (MP) on September 1st, prompting a renewed call from the main opposition for her resignation.
The main opposition APNU+AFC had demanded that Parliament Office make public Walrond’s Certificate of Renunciation that confirms she has given up American citizenship after she publicly stated that she had been in compliance with renouncing her US citizenship since August 27th and that she had subsequently received the Certificate of Loss of Nationality.
In response to a letter from APNU+AFC MP Roysdale Forde SC, who had threatened court action if the certification was not made public, Clerk of the National Assembly Sherlock Isaacs yesterday released the documentation that was submitted to him.
“I hold no responsibility for, or authority in respect of, the appointments of Ministers of Government,” Isaacs wrote in response to Forde.
He added that based on the documents he reviewed and the legal advice he has received, Walrond voluntarily took an oath of renunciation in regards to her US citizenship in September and immediately lost her foreign citizenship.
Isaacs attached the Certificate of Loss of Renunciation, signed by the Consular Section Chief of the US Embassy in Georgetown. It bears 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.
Given the furore over dual citizenship that had marred the 11th Parliament, Isaacs had urged MPs who had issues with dual citizenship to provide evidence of their eligibility to enter the new Parliament. This had been provided by several MPs.
In an invited comment yesterday, Forde told Stabroek News that the dates stated on the certificate are clearly inconsistent with Walrond’s claim of having renounced her foreign nationality on time.
Against this background, he expressed the belief that Walrond could not be considered a constitutional, valid or lawful member of the National Assembly. As a result, he stated that he and the coalition will now be expecting House Speaker Manzoor Nadir to ensure that the constitution is upheld.
There is a constitutional prohibition on dual citizens being eligible for election as members of the 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.
The possibility of Walrond’s resignation was, however, shot down yesterday by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, who claimed she had not signed a declaration indicating that she did not hold foreign citizenship. “It’s a storm in a teacup [because] she approached the Americans prior to that statement and, secondly, she never signed a declaration form. She didn’t mislead the country like every person did in the past and then they were found to be illegal in the National Assembly when they signed that declaration form. She received the certificate [four] days later but she is not an American citizen,” he told a press conference.
He further said that Walrond took the oath after signaling to the relevant authorities that she was renouncing her citizenship. “Personally I don’t think the government should swear in Oneidge Walrond again. Right now, she is not an American citizen. She is properly in the National Assembly,” he maintained, while adding that the country should be grateful that she had given up her foreign citizenship to serve.
But Forde maintained that APNU+AFC expects Walrond to resign as both MP and government minister.
He said that the certificate confirms the position he has all along articulated on behalf of the APNU+AFC—that when Walrond took the oath of office on August 5th, 2020 as a government minister and September 1st, 2020 as an MP, she had not yet renounced her US citizenship and was therefore not qualified to hold either position.
Walrond, in a public statement two weeks ago, had said that two weeks after she was invited to join the Cabinet, she wrote to the US Consular office renouncing her US citizenship with immediate effect. She had said she was then informed of the administrative procedure she was required to comply with in order to obtain a Certificate of Loss of Nationality.
“I complied with that process by August 27. I have since received the Certificate of Loss of Nationality,” she stated. She had, however, never provided the date on the certificate.
Previously contacted on the issue, Nadir had told Stabroek News that he was aware that Walrond uttered her renunciation on August 18th and that he had no reason to doubt her.
“…What I knew was that the Honourable Minister had said to me that she submitted her renunciation on 18th of August. I have no reason to not believe the Honourable Minister and I consider the renunciation of the 18th of August as acceptable to me,” he had said.
But Forde said that Nadir’s comments were “unfortunate and obviously inconsistent with the clear and true facts of the certificate,” the dates from which he said would indicate that she is neither an MP or government minister
In his letter to the Clerk, Forde had charged that the inaction by him, (Isaacs) and Nadir “in the face of the unconstitutional appointment” of Walrond was “unacceptable” and constituted a violation of their obligation to uphold the constitution.
