The Editor, Sir:

Pastor Phinn, whose much-circulated prophecy that the Portia Simpson Miller-led People's National Party (PNP) would win at the polls may now, if only theoretically, have credence.

Don Robotham's article in The Sunday Gleaner of April 27 stated that should a count of American citizens sitting in the House of Representatives be taken and Dabdoub's point succeed on appeal, then Prime Minister Golding "... himself should automatically be replaced by Simpson Miller without the bother of calling a general election."

A lesson to be learnt from all of this is that whereas ignorance of the law is really no defence, those MPs with dual citizenship were duly notified of the law prior to seeking nomination.

Constitutional crisis

I did give that opinion for free prior to the 2007 election. So, there is much merit in the point that the Jamaica Labour Party was put on notice regarding the rather disastrous consequence of conducting a multimillion-dollar campaign without regard to sound legal opinion.

But even without the inevitable fallout, consequent on Dabdoub's Appeal succeeding, the chief justice's ruling has created a constitutional crisis for Prime Minister Golding.

The newly appointed attorney general has some painful but legally sound advice to give to her leader. The governor general may have to revisit shortly, his constitutional obligation to review who, indeed, commands a majority of the House of Representatives and that may be Portia Simpson Miller ab initio.

Then Reverend Phinn would have had the last laugh. We have, indeed, interesting days ahead.

I am, etc.,

BERT S. SAMUELS

bert.samuels@gmail.com

4 Duke Street