As Guyana prepares for Nomination Day ahead of the September 1, 2025 General and Regional Elections, the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) has issued a reminder that any individual wishing to sit in the National Assembly must renounce citizenship of the United States or any other foreign country if they hold it.
In a recent statement, GECOM reminded all parties and prospective candidates that under Article 155(1)(a) of the Constitution, no one is qualified for election to Parliament if they owe “allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.” This means that dual citizens are disqualified from being nominated or elected as Members of Parliament (MPs).
The reminder comes amid fresh preparations for the upcoming polls — and brings back into focus a constitutional issue that triggered political and legal upheaval in recent years.
In 2019, the question of dual citizenship became a flashpoint when then Minister of State Joseph Harmon and several other high-profile MPs were found to be in breach of the Constitution by holding foreign citizenship while occupying seats in the National Assembly. The matter reached Guyana’s courts following the historic December 2018 no-confidence motion that toppled the government at the time.
The High Court and Court of Appeal both ruled that dual citizens could not legally sit in the National Assembly. The then-government unsuccessfully challenged aspects of the ruling at the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), which upheld the constitutional bar.
Despite the clear rulings, several government and opposition MPs initially resisted stepping down. Harmon famously declared at a press conference, “I am not illegal,” even as he and others argued they would await the CCJ’s final decision. Ultimately, Harmon, along with then-Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge and other dual nationals, resigned and later confirmed that they had renounced their foreign citizenships to remain eligible to return to Parliament.
The controversy even touched the opposition benches at the time. Senior figures like the PPP/C’s Gail Teixeira also stepped down to relinquish their second citizenships before returning to public office.
GECOM’s latest reminder signals that it expects strict compliance this election cycle. The Commission has cautioned all political parties to scrutinise their Lists of Candidates thoroughly to avoid including ineligible dual nationals — warning that such lists would be rendered defective under the Constitution.
Nomination Day for the elections is set for next Monday, and all parties must ensure that candidates meet all constitutional requirements: they must be Guyanese citizens only, at least 18 years old, registered as electors, and able to speak and read English well enough to participate in Parliament.
As Guyana moves toward the September polls, the issue of dual citizenship is unlikely to fade from the national conversation — especially given its pivotal role in past constitutional showdowns that reshaped the country’s political landscape.
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