It’s not right! Donald E. de Castro on Shaina M. Smith contesting elections
According to Mr de Castro, at the end of the day she is a US citizen and there may be many others who may be uncomfortable with her being in the House of Assembly if elected and the possibility of her leading the country, even if in an acting capacity.
“How do you feel about someone from Jamaica coming to be president in Guyana? She is running for a government and any one of those Ministers could act as Premier at the end of the day” Mr de Castro stated.
It should be noted; however, that Guyana did have a president who was not Guyanese by birth- Janet Rosenberg Jagan was an American-born socialist politician who was the first woman President of Guyana from December 19, 1997, to August 11, 1999. This was told to Mr de Castro.
“I don’t care what country it is, nobody, no naturalised citizen could hold the post of vice president or president of the United States. They may get elected to Congress but they can’t hold those top positions.
“I don’t care, at the end of the day she is a US citizen by birth,” Mr de Castro stated.
Shaina M. Smith who started her political career with the People’s Patriotic Alliance (PPA) as an At Large Candidate in 2011 but failed to get elected, has since defected to the NDP despite indicating previously to this news site that she was not going to run with the NDP. She will be contesting against incumbent and senior Virgin Islands Party (VIP) member Hon Andrew A. Fahie in the First District.
“Foreigners” in HOA?
The talk show host said he also had concerns with “all the other foreigners” in the House of Assembly. “You got Mark [Hon Mark H. Vanterpool (R4)] from Anguilla and Archie [Hon Archibald C. Christian] and Myron [Hon Myron V. Walwyn] who were born here but parents are from somewhere else, now you have Shaina, whose parents from here but she is a US citizen by birth so what kind of mixed up confusion you have in your country.”
In April of 2011, in an exclusive interview with Virgin Islands News Online, Richard Courtney de Castro, a talk show co-host and political activist, said based on his interpretation of the VI Constitutional Order of 2007 the two National Democratic Party (NDP) candidates at the time, Myron V. Walwyn and Archibald C. Christian, and the then independent candidate Claude Skelton-Cline, who unsuccessfully ran with the NDP in the second district, were not eligible to contest the General Elections.
While it is accurate that none of Messers Walwyn’s or Christian’s parents or their grandparents were born in the Virgin Islands, both Walwyn and Christian were born in the VI, according to birth certificates shown to this news site.
Therefore, according to Virgin Islands News Online’s legal counsel, both were qualified to run for political office as they were born before 2007.
As for Skelton-Cline, being born in the VI was never been a question, as he comes from indigenous VI families of Clines and Skeltons with parents and grandparents being Virgin Islanders. Mr Cline has since been snubbed by the NDP who is now pushing Melvin ‘Mitch’ Turnbull as Second District Candidate.
VI Constitution 2007 on eligibility
According to Section 65 of the Virgin Islands Constitution 2007, it states that subject to Section 65 and Section 66, a person shall be qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Assembly if, and shall not be qualified to be so elected unless, he or she (2) was so qualified before the commencement of the 2007 Constitution; or (b) is a person who (i) is a Virgin Islander of the age of 21 years or upwards and (ii) is otherwise qualified as a voter under section 68.
The Constitution also explains that a Virgin Islander is a person, who belongs to the Virgin Islands by birth or decent who was (a) born in the Virgin Islands of a father or mother who at the time of the birth was a British overseas territories citizen (or a British Dependent Territories citizen) by virtue of birth in Virgin Islands or by virtue of descent from a father or mother who was born in the Virgin Islands; (b) born in the Virgin Islands of a father or mother who at the time of the birth belonged to the Virgin Islands by birth or descent or born outside the Virgin Islands of a father or mother who at the time of the birth belonged to the Virgin Islands by birth or descent.
The young businesswoman and engineer, Shaina Mary Ann Smith, was born to Egbert Antonio Smith and Belvianna Frazer Smith of West End, Tortola.
Efforts to get a response from Ms Smith on Mr de Castro’s concerns were not successful.
72 Responses to “It’s not right! Donald E. de Castro on Shaina M. Smith contesting elections”
She has a dam right to contest the elections. Shew. Mark wasnt born here but he's in the house. This woman can trace her real root back to generations since 19=834 in the VI . Can mar Archie and Myron claim the same? Stop chat pi$$.
Another @$$ again!
There are hundreds of politicians across the world with Dual Citizenship. Most notable Arnold Schwartzenneger who is from Austria but was the governor of California.
Please stop quoting Donald and putting him in the media! Just ignore him please media family!!
This man should sit his $%%^&&* down. Nonsense.
The best P***Y you ever get is from Guyana,