A slight majority of Jamaicans (54 per cent) support the constitutional arrangement which restricts persons who have sworn allegiance to a foreign power from sitting in Parliament.

But even as they support the provision, six out of every 10 Jamaicans are opposed to the argument by defeated People's National Party (PNP) candidate Abe Dabdoub that he should be handed the West Portland seat after the court ruled that the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) Daryl Vaz was not eligible to sit in the House of Representatives.

The Bill Johnson team poll was conducted on May 31 and June 1 in 84 communities with 1,008 respondents. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent.

Controversy

The dual citizenship controversy has been on the front burner since last year when Dabdoub first raised questions about the eligibility of at least one JLP candidate with dual citizenship to serve as member of parliament.

That has opened a can of worms, with heated debate across the island about the practicality of the constitutional provision and what action should be taken.

Not surprisingly, opinions have differed based on political ties and the Bill Johnson poll confirmed that many positions have been coloured by politics.

According to the poll, 54 per cent of the respondents agree with the constitutional provision while 33 per cent believe it should be changed.

Legal challenges

The majority of people who want the Constitution changed (46 per cent) say they support the JLP, which has found itself in trouble as at least four of its victorious candidates face legal challenges. Forty-three per cent of Labourites say the Constitution should not be changed; 11 per cent said they don't know.

Only 23 per cent of Comrades believe the Constitution should be changed, while 67 per cent are adamant there is nothing wrong with the constitutional provision. Ten per cent say they don't know.

The PNP has been at the forefront of the legal challenges brought against four government parliamentarians accused of having sworn allegiance to other states.

The party is also having a strong internal debate over the fate of one of its own members of parliament, Sharon Hay-Webster, who is an American citizen by birth and who has allegedly travelled on a US passport at least once.

The Bill Johnson team found that the majority (48 per cent) of independent electors do not want the Constitution changed, while 39 per cent back swift reconsideration.

The team also found the vast majority of Jamaicans do not believe that if the sitting member of parliament holds dual citizen-ship and does not qualify to sit in Parliament, the seat should be awarded to the defeated candidate.

That is the argument of Dabdoub, who has convinced the court to rule against Vaz's eligibility in West Portland.

Not satisfied, the attorney-at-law has gone back to court to challenge the ruling that a by-election should be held in the seat, while arguing that he should be declared member of parliament.

PNP split

But Dabdoub's position was rejected by 62 per cent of the respondents, who said a by-election should be held for the seat.

It is a debate that has split PNP supporters, with 47 per cent arguing that a by-election should be held, while 35 per cent believe Dabdoub should be handed the seat.

Among JLP supporters, the matter is more clear cut. Seventy-eight per cent support the chief justice's ruling for a by-election and six per cent saying the seat should be handed to the defeated candidate. Fifteen per cent are undecided.

A similarly overwhelming majority (70 per cent) of the uncommitted believe that a by-election should be held, while 11 per cent support Dabdoub's position that the defeated candidate should be given the seat.