<p> DUAL CITIZENSHIP AND POLITICAL OFFICE - PART TWO</p><p>By Dr. Albert Williams</p><p>A few weeks ago, I presented arguments for and against dual citizenship and political office. Since then, there have been numerous other articles published in local and regional newspapers, hundreds of emails shared, numerous radio programs, many television interviews (including a recent one with former Prime Minister Esquivel), extensive government consultations, and thousands of discussions in our homes, etc. This is a ‘hot’ topic, and rightly so! I believe that many people are supporting AND many are not. The arguments provided are legitimate for both sides. I have gone through the majority of the papers published by distinguished Belizeans and have summarize the findings for all Belizeans to digest The Situation One author presented the situation and offered his solution. This author then went through the recommended amendment and showed what effect it would have on other sections of The Belize Constitution. (This was more like if you make a change at one place, you have to make a few changes elsewhere.) This author also stated the legal qualification for running for political office. He stated that subject to the provisions of Section 58 of this Constitution, a person shall be qualified to be a member of the Legislature if and only if he/she is: 1) is a citizen of Belize of the age of eighteen years or upwards; and 2) has resided in Belize for a period of at least one year immediately before the date of his nomination for election. The first part could include people with dual citizenship. However, he also stated the disqualification conditions, which included: Sections 58/63-(1)(a): No person shall qualify to be a member of the Legislature (National Assembly) who (a) is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or State. This clearly excludes ALL with dual citizenship. This author recommends an amendment to be made to allow Belizeans with dual citizenship from countries that recognizes Belize’s independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity to qualify to become a member of the Legislature. He proposes: Section 58(1)(a) and 63(1)(a) of the Constitution to be amended to: “No person shall be qualified to be a member of the Legislature (House of Representatives and the Senate) who is by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or State, which does not recognize the independence, sovereignty or territorial integrity of Belize.” This amendment would capture the essence of the government’s proposal, essentially removing the dual citizenship disqualification and also covering the exclusion of citizens from ‘unfriendly’ countries. This author presented an excellent overview of what is the problem and what needs to be done to make the change. Authors Not Supporting the Amendment Another author, a Belizean attorney living in the U.S., took the position that the U.S. government is concerned about U.S. citizens having dual citizenship as it can create “claims which at times may be competing and conflicting.” She strongly recommends certain conditions be added to </p><p>1 the amendment before it is passed into law. One condition is a residency period before voted into the National Assembly. (Presently we have a one year residency period.) She goes on to say that the issue of pledging allegiance to one country (e.g. U.S.) does not mean renouncing her allegiance to Belize. She said that what is in your heart is what matters and most American Belizeans do love Belize first. She goes on to say that the law was drafted with the best interest of the people of Belize and it should stay as stands. However, she did say that significant discussions must happen before the amendment is tabled. This is definitely happening. Another author gave a long and informative paper on the THREE amendments of which one is the dual citizenship amendment. She also said that the proposed amendment does NOT include any restriction on dual citizenship, implying Guatemalan Belizeans could run for office in Belize. She mentioned the situation in Jamaica with Mr. Vaz who has U.S. citizenship and ran for political office in Jamaica. The Jamaican Courts ruled against Mr. Vaz on the grounds that, even though he had nothing to do with his American citizenship (born there), he used a U.S. passport and hence, ‘by his own act’, was a U.S. citizen and was denied the privilege of running for elections in Jamaica. She used the Vaz case to say that those with dual citizenship should be excluded from political office. She continues to say that, “only those persons who have undivided loyalty to Belize should be elected to the House of Representatives or appointed to the Senate.” She said the PUP government put in this clause in 2001 to ensure that elected officials did not have dual citizenship. This author does not support the proposed amendment to enable Belizeans with dual citizenship to run for political office.</p><p>Another author gave many reasons why she does not support the amendment. Her primary reason is based on “the integrity, rights, and responsibilities of such offices of representation of the people MUST rest on having allegiance to ONE nation.” She provided other reasons including: teaching patriotism by leading by example, and conflict of interest. She suggests that the only way for someone to hold high political office is to give up his/her ‘other’ citizenship and be of Belizean citizenship only. This writer published at least three articles against the dual citizenship amendment. She definitely opposed the proposed amendment. </p><p>Authors Supporting the Amendments</p><p>An American Belizean gave his strong support for the amendment. It is a way for Belizeans living abroad to get back their rightful claim to political office. He stated that Belizeans living abroad have participated in the financial, economic, social, and cultural aspects of Belize. He continued to show that Belizeans abroad do help with education and medical donations, etc. Hence, it only seems natural that they be allowed to take political office. This author strongly supports the amendment to allow Belizean with dual citizenship to vote for political office. </p><p>A group of highly professional Belizeans living mainly in the U.S. strongly support the amendment. This group recently made a public statement that reads, “With respect to The Belizeans living in the country of Belize and elsewhere, regarding Constitutional Rights, The Consortium for Belizean Development, Inc. (located in the U.S.) affirms that there is but one </p><p>2 Belize and one Belizean citizenry, there should be no artificial distinction, disenfranchisement, nor discrimination between native born Belizeans. Belizeans with dual or more citizenship must be afforded the same rights as any other native born Belizean.” Hence, this group of highly professional Belizeans living abroad is strongly supporting the proposed amendment. These Belizeans would make great political candidates.</p><p>Several authors have provided support for the proposed amendment. Some have used arguments that were politically based, implying that in 2001, PUP amended the Constitution, excluding those Belizeans with dual citizenship from political office, and the UDP needs to add it back. There is a compelling racial argument that is presented. Most of the American and Canadian Belizeans are Creoles or Garinagu, so when the law was amended in 2003, it penalized these Belizeans more than any other racial groups. One author wrote four articles on this topic. These authors all urge the government to return their right to hold political office. </p><p>Belizeans living at home, the government wants to hear from you. So, if you support this amendment to allow dual citizenship to hold political office, please voice your opinion in a paper note, an email, a phone call, or a face-to-face meeting with your Representatives or inform the PM’s Office or the National Assembly in Belmopan. </p><p>Please look out for another update coming shortly called, “DUAL CITIZENSHIP AND POLITICAL OFFICE - PART THREE” </p><p>3</p>