Constitution dictates who is eligible for citizenship – Jagdeo

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo says the Constitution dictates who is eligible for Guyanese citizenship and any attempt to block eligible persons from getting their citizenship and voting would be discriminatory.

As such, he posited that the government will adhere to the Constitution.

Jagdeo said this on Thursday while responding to concerns raised about the granting of citizenship to children of Guyanese citizens.

Importantly, Jagdeo said many of those citizens are Guyanese who fled harsh economic conditions in Guyana and are now returning here.

As per the Constitution, an individual can become a citizen if at least one parent is a citizen of Guyana. There are also provisions for citizenship by naturalisation.

“The constitution says who is eligible for citizenship in this country.

“If they are eligible for citizenship, then they have to be given citizenship. If they are eligible to vote, then they must be allowed to vote… that’s what the Constitution says,” Jagdeo told reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

But the Vice President emphasised that the government is not ignorant of any potential threat that can be posed by migrants in face of Venezuela’s aggressions and claims to Guyana’s Essequibo region.

“We agree that we have to be vigilant.

“….We have assets in communities who are looking at those who are coming here but we will not start a large-scale campaign against people who have all the rights afforded to them, to disenfranchise them,” he emphasised.

At another press conference last month, Jagdeo cast aside concerns from the main parliamentary opposition that Venezuelans are being registered by the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) to vote in future elections.

According to Jagdeo, registration figures so far are not unusual and are similar to the population figures usually recorded in various regions.

Between January to now, he said about 13,600 people were registered. The bulk of the people registered are from Regions Three and Four.

So, Jagdeo believes it is untrue that large numbers of Venezuelans, who fled their country in search of betterment in Guyana, are being registered.