Join the debate online! Log on to www.gleanerblogs.com and have your say. Here's a sample of what readers have to say about the June 16 by-election in North East St Catherine:

Kelvin says:

Interesting strategy on the part of the Jamaica Labour Party. Fight the cases one by one, contesting the seats one at a time over some extended period of time to make their administration last as long as possible.

Carl says:

The people of Jamaica deserve better. Unless we have a viable and legitimate third party, dedicated to the interest of Jamaicans, nothing will get better. How much more suffering and disrespect will Jamaicans endure at the hands of politicians? Get rid of both political parties.

Lance Reid says:

The real questions are: Is this a genuine constitutional issue (Section 40)? Is this a case of divided loyalty? Would you be hearing of these dual-citizenship issues if the loser had won or is it a classic case of the fox crying over sour grapes?

The strict constitutionalist will argue that this has no political bearing whatsoever but upholding the Constitution of Jamaica. However, historical precedents have shown that this argument is flawed.

From my understanding, there are a number of individuals who have served this country, both in the House and Senate, who were not born in Jamaica or a Commonwealth country and nobody questioned their allegiance at the time. It is also said that Bustamante had dual citizenship (Spain) and there is no record to indicate if he had renounced his Spanish citizenship.

Dudley Thompson, Hector Wynter and Frank Worrel are also men who served our country in high positions, even though they were born outside Jamaica. Therefore, this begs the question: Are we invoking the principle of upholding the Constitution when it suits our agenda?

Ommugabe says:

The so-called Supreme Court justices seem to know little about justice. Why people with divided loyalties allowed in the House for months, when the Jamaican Constitution is clear about not allowing divided loyalties in Parliament?

This issue of citizens with divided loyalties should have been settled before the election, and for sure, settled before the traitors could sit in the House!

The constitutional bar against citizens with divided loyalties was clear before the election. It is out of disrespect and disregard for Jamaica's Constitution that dual citizens engaged in illegally contesting the general election.

www.gleanerblogs.com