Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 15/Sep 05:58

Opposition: Citizenship Bill seriously flawed

Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles, in a lengthy social media post on September 13, outlined why she and the party could not and did not support government’s Grandparents Citizen Law. One of its major reasons for voting against in the House last Friday, was that this could have serious consequences for voting in the future. She said this should be of concern to all citizens. “While people who attain citizenship without having parents or grandparents born in TT will not be eligible to represent the nation in international sports, they will have all the other rights of citizens, including free schooling, health care and most importantly – the right to vote,” she said. She added that once those people became citizens, they needed to only live in an electoral district for two months before the qualifying date for general elections, to be placed on the electoral list. The PNM, Beckles said, firmly believes this bill purports to have a noble intent, while the proverbial sting was in the tail. “The proposed amendments of clause four (b) and (c) pave the way for serious abuses, including the risk of voter padding and other forms of manipulation.” The bill was passed in the Lower House on September 12 and is also known as the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2025. It is on its way to amending section 17 (3) of the constitution which says a child born outside of TT acquires citizenship by descent, if, at the time of birth, at least one parent is, or was a citizen of TT otherwise than by descent. Beckles said in her post, following the debate on Friday, that the opposition could not agree to clauses four (b) and (c) which opened the pathway for individuals whose parents and grandparents were not born in TT to acquire citizenship. She said the PNM supported aspects of the bill, particularly clause four (a) which sought to amend section 17 (3) of the constitution which provided a pathway for people born outside of the country to acquire citizenship if their grandparent was born in TT. Her statement said, “According to the government, the bill's intention was to offer citizenship to athletes with ancestral ties to Trinidad and Tobago, through parents or grandparents, making them eligible to represent our nation in international competitions. “Such persons will qualify to represent Trinidad and Tobago in international sports, and are therefore potential assets to our national teams.” Clause four (b) deleted the word “otherwise” in the initial section and substituted it with “including” while clause four (c) deletes the words “otherwise by descent” and substitutes it with "including by descent.” She said people who acquire citizenship under these circumstances, based on the rules on international sporting agencies, will not qualify to represent TT internationally and that the government’s argument that these particular amendments would boost the country’s national teams was false. Sport and Youth Minister Phillip Watts piloted last Friday’s bill and said the TT Football Association identified 40 athletes who were willing to play for the country if they were granted citizenship, media reports said. Beckles said the opposition repeatedly called on the government to clarify why the amendments to clauses four (b) and (c) as clause four (a) was sufficient to achieve the stated objective. She added that examination of similar laws in other countries showed that the opposed clauses were unique to TT. The post Opposition: Citizenship Bill seriously flawed appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.