The main opposition People's Action Movement (PAM) says it intends to challenge the recently approved legislation requiring anyone standing as a candidate in an election to first take an oath indicating that they do not hold dual citizenship.

PAM leader, attorney Lindsay Grant, in a radio interview broadcast here, described the new legislation as unconstitutional.

"Our Constitution is the highest law of the land," he said, referring to Section 28 (a) of the St Kitts and Nevis Constitution, which says that a person is not qualified to sit in Parliament if they are under any acknowledgement of allegiance, obedience or adherence to a foreign power or state.

"It therefore means that the challenge comes at the stage when that person has already been elected. You have a 21-day period after that to challenge. That's the Constitution," he said.

He said that the new law "sets up an additional hurdle for an individual" who is being nominated as a candidate for a general election.

"It says now when you present yourself on nomination day to the officer ... that officer is given the power to determine if what he (the candidate) produces in the form of a certificate or otherwise is good and sufficient for that individual.

"It would make a mockery of the Constitution to have that hurdle put yet a lesser hurdle on nomination day be conducted by an officer, and not the court," Grant said.

"We have already drafted the necessary documentation...to attack that particular piece of legislation, and that will come in the ensuing week," he added.