Parliamentary Committee Endorses Constitutional Amendment To Allow Dual Citizens Hold Public Office
- The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs has backed a private member's bill seeking to allow dual citizens hold certain public offices
- The bill will remove the restrictions that prohibit dual citizens from serving as Members of Parliament, IGPs and Ambassadors
- The committee argued that the removal of the restrictions would inure to the benefit of the nation
The Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament has endorsed the passage of a bill advocating for dual citizens to be allowed to hold certain public offices.
The bill, sponsored by the Akim Swedru Member of Parliament, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, seeks to remove the restriction on dual citizens from holding certain high ranking positions in government.
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These positions include the office of the Inspector General of Police, Ambassadorial positions as well as serving as Members of Parliament.
The bill, the Constitution of Republic of Ghana (Amendment) Bill 2021, was sent to Parliament after initially being published in the Gazette on July 9, 2021, and republished on October 11, 2021.
The Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee in its report to Parliament noted that Ghana’s diaspora significantly contributed to the nation’s development and their prohibition from public office was inimical to the said development.
According to the committee, the existing restrictions are outdated and do not inure to the state’s benefit in any way.
The committee recommended that the constitution be amended to remove the restriction to allow Ghana’s diaspora contest and hold public office for the country’s benefit.
It further argued that removing the restriction would allow the country’s diaspora to use their knowledge, expertise and professional competence for the betterment of the nation.
Gyakye Quayson removed as Assin North MP
The issue of dual citizenship was topical last year, 2023, following the case of James Gyakye Quayson, the former MP of Assin North.
The Supreme Court had ordered the removal of Gyakye Quayson’s name from Parliament after it was found that he held a Canadian citizenship at the time of contesting for his parliamentary seat.
In a May 17, 2023 ruling, the Supreme Court said the declaration by the EC of Quayson in 2020 as a lawmaker for Assin North was null and void and of no legal effect.
It said Quayson had failed to show evidence of the cancellation of his citizenship of Canada, thus constituting an act inconsistent with and violates the laws of Ghana.
James Gyakye Quayson's election as MP, therefore, was unconstitutional.
Liberia removes prohibitions on dual citizens
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that Liberia has allowed dual citizenship, reversing a longtime ban viewed by some as hypocritical as many elites secretly held US citizenship.
The bill, signed into law by President George Weah Friday and confirmed Sunday by AFP, had passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate Tuesday.
It amends the West African state's nationality law, allowing Liberians to remain citizens after acquiring a second nationality.
Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
