The tit-for-tat political maneuvering between the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) continued today with the JLP filing a petition in the Supreme Court to have PNP legislator Sharon Hay-Webster removed from Parliament on the grounds that she holds dual citizenship.
JLP officials had told reporters that the party would be moving to get Hay-Webster removed after she admitted in the past that she was born in the United States.
Last month, the PNP was successful in getting the courts to remove the JLP’s Shahine Robinson from Parliament on the grounds that she held both US and Jamaican citizenship.
Robinson, who was a naturalised US citizen, is said to have renounced her citizenship, and will contest a by-election in the St Ann north east constituency on December 20.
The JLP said that Hay Webster, the South Central St Catherine representative who has represented the PNP since 1997, was a US citizen at the time of nominations for the 2007 general elections and as such should be disqualified.
Since the 2007 general election that resulted in the JLP winning by a 32-28 margin, four JLP legislators have been booted from their seats resulting from dual citizen challenges by the PNP.
They have however regained the seats in the subsequent by-elections. The PNP has said that it will not contest the December 20 by-election. (CMC)
