PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) is warning that proposed amendments to the country’s citizenship laws could open the door to voter manipulation and abuse, despite being framed as a move to boost national athletic representation.
In a strongly worded statement, Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles said the United National Congress (UNC) administration’s new Bill, introduced in Parliament on Friday, goes far beyond its stated intention of offering citizenship to foreign-born athletes with ancestral ties to Trinidad and Tobago.
While she said the PNM supports Clause 4(a) of the Bill, which allows individuals with a Trinidad-born grandparent to acquire citizenship — making them eligible to represent the country in international sporting events — the party is raising the alarm over Clauses 4(b) and 4(c).
She said these amendments open the door for people whose parents and grandparents were not born in Trinidad and Tobago to acquire citizenship.
“Persons who acquire citizenship under these circumstances, based on the rules of international sporting agencies, will not qualify to represent Trinidad and Tobago internationally; therefore, the UNC’s argument that these particular amendments will boost our national teams is entirely false,” Beckles said.
“While persons who attain citizenship without having parents or grandparents born in Trinidad and Tobago 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.”
Beckles warned that once granted citizenship, such individuals need only reside in an electoral district for two months before a general election to become eligible voters.
The PNM accused the UNC of using the legislation to quietly facilitate “voter padding” under the guise of sports development.
“This Bill purports to have a noble intent, while the proverbial sting is in the tail. The proposed amendments of Clause 4(b) and (c) pave the way for serious abuses, including the risk of voter padding and other forms of manipulation,” Beckles said.
The Opposition also noted that a review of similar laws in other countries found no precedent for such expansive provisions as those in Clauses 4(b) and 4(c), describing them as “unique to Trinidad and Tobago” and potentially dangerous.
The PNM is now urging the public to “vigorously defend the integrity” of the electoral system and reject what it calls the “latest attempt of the UNC to erode our democracy”.
“The PNM will not compromise the integrity of our democratic institutions,” Beckles declared. “As the vigilant Opposition, we remain steadfast in our duty to protect the value and significance of Trinidad and Tobago’s citizenship.”
