VAZ

The Court battle for the West Portland seat has intensified with Member of Parliament (MP) Daryl Vaz filing a surprise appeal yesterday, seeking to overturn the April 11 court ruling, which ousted him from Parliament.

Vaz filed the appeal in the Court of Appeal yesterday, a day after Abe Dabdoub, who represented the People's National Party (PNP), made good on his promise to appeal against chief justice's ruling that a by-election take place to determine the MP for the constituency.

Dabdoub had filed an election petition seeking to be returned as the MP for West Portland.

Stay of judgment

McCalla disqualified Vaz on the basis that he was the holder of a United States passport and, by virtue of travelling on it and renewing it, he had pledged allegiance to a foreign power. A 42-day stay of the judgment was granted so Vaz will remain MP until May 23.

Vaz had earlier given notice that he would be going back to the polls to retain his seat and had encouraged the PNP leadership to allow the people to decide, not the court.

He is contending that the chief justice erred when she ruled that on nomination day, August 7 last year, he was not qualified to be elected to the House of Representatives.

Under the Constitution, no person who has pledged allegiance to a foreign power shall sit in the House of Representatives or in the Senate.

Grounds of appeal

Dabdoub

Also among the grounds of appeal filed by his lawyers, Ransford Braham and Suzanne Risden-Foster, Vaz contends that McCalla's ruling is flawed because "on the one hand, she held incorrectly that the words 'acknowledgement of allegiance obedience and adherence to a foreign power', contained in section 40(2) of the Jamaican Constitution, are wide enough to embrace a citizen who is a subject or a citizen of a foreign power.

Vaz claims the chief justice contradicted herself when she held that, by virtue of the provisions of the Constitution of Jamaica, a Jamaican by birth, descent or registration who is also a dual citizen cannot be deprived of his Jamaican citizenship and that the first respondent (Vaz) is therefore entitled to the rights and privileges afforded to him as a dual citizen.

Vaz polled 944 votes more than Dabdoub in the general election and was declared the MP. Dabdoub, however, said he should have been declared the MP as Vaz has been found not to be qualified to be elected to the House of Representatives.