BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, January 21, 2019 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Attorney General, the Honourable Vincent Byron, while addressing a question posed during the Prime Minister’s press conference on Wednesday (January 16), reminded the nation of the serious implications surrounding the outcome of the diplomatic passport case brought against Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Denzil Douglas.

The Attorney General stated that in accordance with Section 28 and Section 31 (3) of the Constitution of St. Christopher and Nevis, the Opposition Leader, who is the Parliamentary Representative for Constituency Six, stands to be disbarred from the National Assembly if the court concludes that the use of his diplomatic passport issued by the Commonwealth of Dominica constitutes an act of adherence to a foreign power.

Section 28–(1) a) of the Constitution states that, “A person shall not be qualified to be elected or appointed as a member if he is, by virtue of his own act, under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.”

Section 31–(3) c) states that, “An elected or appointed member shall also vacate his seat in the Assembly subject to subsection (4), if any other circumstances arise that, if he were not a member, would cause him to be disqualified to be elected or appointed as such by virtue of subsection (1) of section 28 or of any law enacted in pursuance of subsection (2), (3) or (5) of that section.”

Minister Byron stated, “Basically, what we are saying is that Dr. Douglas will have to vacate his seat in the Parliament if the court finds that the use of his passport puts him under an allegiance to Dominica. It would mean that the court will have to order him to vacate his seat in the Parliament.”