ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC):

Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has admitted being in possession of a French passport, but that did not prevent his nomination among over 50 candidates to contest the December 18 general election.

President of the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP), Edison James, told a public meeting on Tuesday night that Skerrit was a "citizen of a foreign land" and, as a result, was not eligible to be nominated to contest the general election.

"Under our constitution if a person becomes a national, a citizen of a foreign land and is under allegiance to that foreign country and that he became a citizen of that country by his own free will ... it is not his parents who did it for him ... then that person cannot be eligible to be a candidate," James, who served as prime minister from 1995-2000, told supporters.

But Skerrit, 37, who led his Dominica Labour Party (DLP) into victory in 2005 and is seeking a repeat later this month, has brushed aside James' remarks, confirming that he is the holder of a French passport.

According to Skerrit, he had been a French citizen since 1972 and did not acquire the French passport or citizenship while he was an adult, but when he moved from the rural village of Vielle Case to the French island of Guadeloupe with his parents.

He said he returned to Dominica to live with his grandparents.

'Utter disregard for law'

The Dominica Freedom Party (DFP) has nonetheless accused Skerrit of showing "utter disregard for the rule of law".

It said that his statement on the dual-citizenship issue "strongly suggests that he is prepared to do anything to remain in power, even if it means violating the constitution".

The DFP has urged the Electoral Commission to investigate whether Skerritt is eligible to be a candidate in the December 2009 general election.