Did The PPP Regime Break The Law and Should Minister Waldron Resign with Immediate Effect?
It is alleged that the current Minister of Tourism, Onieidge Waldron, was sworn into office by the PPP regime while being a Citizen of the United States of America. Waldron is a Guyanese by birth but became a U.S. citizen by nationalization.
There is currently much speculation about the timing of her renunciation of her U.S. citizenship and the time that she was sworn into office by the PPP regime. Waldron put out a statement indicating that she had requested the renunciation with immediate effect.
“I wrote to the U.S. Consular Office on August 18, renouncing my citizenship to the United States of America with immediate effect. I was thereof informed of the administrative procedure I must comply with to obtain a Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States. I complied with that process by August 27. I have since received the Certificate of Loss of Nationality. I took the oath to the National Assembly on September 1. That was after I renounced my citizenship of the United States of America,” said Oniege Waldron.
In a statement on Saturday, the Minister stated that she was still in possession of dual citizenship when she was sworn in as a Technocrat Minister in August. However, on August 27, she indicated that she was in compliance with the application process and submitted such a document for the renunciation. On September 1, she took the oath to the National Assembly. The Minister did not provide any further details about the date she received the Certificate of Loss of Nationality from the United States.
According to Guyana’s constitution, article 103(3), persons that are elected to serve as non-elected Members of the National Assembly and Parliamentary Secretaries must also be qualified in the same manner as Members of the National Assembly. Did the PPP regime break the law by having Minister Waldron sworn in while being a United States citizen?
Renouncing one’s citizenship does not happen overnight, and can become a process that can take months, depending on the backlog of applications. Another question that comes to mind is, does initiating an application to renounce one’s citizenship mean that your citizenship is denounced? The Minister claimed in her statement that she requested an application for the denouncement of her U.S. citizenship with immediate effect on August 27, 2020. Basic common sense would tell you that when dealing with documentation from the United States can once again take months or even years. Why is she trying to confuse the Guyanese people about the truths of such a process?
It isn’t nearly as clear of a procedure as the Minister makes it sound. For one, a person applying for such a request would have at least attended two appointments. They’d have to be sure about their decision, and not be under any duress. In addition, the person would have had to swear and sign an oath, which would usually come after a few days or weeks. The forms, once completed, would be sent to the U.S. State Department in Washington.
The Minister’s statement to all of the above reads as very vague, without an indication of the complicated process that she would have to follow in order to obtain the necessary documentation that proves that she is no longer a U.S. citizen. As we have seen in many instances outside of Guyana, where a government minister himself broke the law, there would be a push for resignation as the government and its citizens would lose trust in the individual without it.
To prove her account of her supposed actions, Minister Waldron should produce her documentation as evidence that she was granted the renunciation of her U.S. citizenship immediately from the U.S. Consulate in Guyana on her before the day she was sworn into office.
The no-confidence vote in 2018 led to this motion becoming law. As a result, four of APNU+AFC members were forced to resign as members of the National Assembly.
The APNU+AFC promised to take legal action against the Minister and the Government of Guyana.
