THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE LONG-AWAITED decision of the Chief Justice is now out. Douglas Vaz was not qualified to be nominated, much less elected, to serve as the people's representative for West Portland. The long delay in handing down this decision has afforded the Bruce Golding government to prepare itself for the calling of a snap general election.

What puzzles me, however, is the logic of having a by-election. If you have a race/contest between two or more persons and the winner is disqualified on the basis of not having been eligible to take part in the race/contest, then the winner's status should automatically be awarded to the next contestant. If Vaz's nomination was "invalid, null and void and of no legal effect", then there was only one contestant and only one winner, not an invalid contest as the calling of a by-election implies.

Implications from ruling

This landmark ruling has several implications:

1. Section 40 of our constitution has been upheld, the same section that the prime minister and Members of Parliament (MP) have sworn to uphold when they took the oath of office.

2. The former prime minister has been vindicated when she remarked on election night that there were issues affecting the outcome which were unresolved, hence she could not concede defeat then.

3. Douglas Vaz should immediately renounce his United States citizenship and should not continue to insult our constitution by sitting in our Parliament, while holding on to his US citizenship, and waiting on the calling of a by-election before he renounces it, as he is quoted as saying.

4. All the other MPs/senators who are in violation of section 40 of our constitution should signify their respect for the constitution by resigning forthwith. They should not wait for their individual cases to be heard before acting. They should also decide to renounce their US or other ties if they want to continue with active representational politics.

Resignation of walker

5. Danville Walker, the director of elections, should resign immediately or be asked to resign by his bosses, the Electoral Advisory Commission (EAC), as the law prevents the director of elections from holding dual citizenship, and Professor Miller was reported as saying that the EAC was awaiting the result of this case before acting.

6. Bruce Golding as the prime minister and 'chief servant' should show true courage and leadership and finally state his position on this rule of our constitution. He has remained strangely silent on this issue, offering no position. He should also insist that his MPs follow the law and respect our constitution. He should demand their resignation or dismiss them if they fail to comply. .

We all await Abe Dabdoub's appeal and the days ahead.

I am, etc.,

WARREN BLAKE F.R.C.S.

Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon