VZCZCXRO7268
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHKG #0310/01 1051908
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 141908Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6185
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 000310 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/CAR FOR JTILGHMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL CACS CPAS JM XL
SUBJECT: JAMAICA: DUAL NATIONAL MP NOT ELIGIBLE TO SERVE IN 
PARLIAMENT 
 
REF: A. 07 KINGSTON 1336 
     ¶B. KINGSTON 280 
     ¶C. 07 KINGSTON 1389 
     ¶D. KINGSTON 245 
 
Summary 
-------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) In the afternoon of April 11, Chief Justice Zaila 
McCalla of the Supreme Court announced her judgment in the 
first case of election petitions filed alleging that an 
elected  Member of Parliament (MP) had been improperly 
nominated; as he had sworn allegiance to a foreign power. 
The case was brought to the courts by Abe Dabdoub of the 
People's National Party (PNP), who lost the race for the West 
Portland seat to the Jamaica Labour Party's Daryl Vaz. 
McCalla citing numerous cases of common law, and ruled that 
although Daryl Vaz acquired U.S. citizenship through his 
American mother as a minor, his subsequent renewals of his 
U.S. passport and the act of traveling extensively using the 
U.S. passport showed voluntary allegiance to the U.S.  She 
further stated that, although the PNP legal team had 
requested Dabdoub be instated as MP, she was unable to 
disenfranchise the voters who had not had sufficient evidence 
that Vaz was ineligible for Parliament.  Therefore she ruled 
there must be a by-election to determine a new representative 
for the West Portland constituency. 
 
Daryl Vaz 
---------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Daryl Vaz was born in Jamaica on December 15, 1963. 
His father Douglas Vaz is Jamaican, and a former MP himself. 
His mother Sonia Vaz was born in Puerto Rico and a U.S. 
citizen.  Shortly after Vaz's birth in Jamaica, his mother 
registered his birth abroad at U.S. Embassy Kingston. 
Daryl's first foray into representational politics came at 
the age of 19 when he was elected councillor for the Waterloo 
division of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) in 
¶1981.  After just one term in local government, he walked 
away from politics.  Vaz moved to Florida and pursued a 
degree at Miami Dade Community College.  After his studies, 
Vaz got involved in the automotive sales industry and 
remained a businessman until his return to politics for last 
year's national elections, when he won the popular vote for 
West Portland over the PNP's Dabdoub by a total of 6,977 ) 
6,063 (Ref A). 
 
¶3. (U) Vaz's popularity in Portland began before the 
September 2007 elections.  He assisted the JLP campaign in 
East Portland in 2003 during local elections.  Then eyeing an 
eroding lead in the PNP's performance in recent elections in 
West Portland, he prepared to make his grand return to active 
politics.  He made his home in West Portland, and distributed 
over 4,000 school bags and other school supplies to students 
in the district.  The 45-year old businessman also helped 
with the rehabilitation of a local park and began to preach 
about a coming JLP government that would lead a 
revitalization of Portland. 
 
Abe Dabdoub champion of election disputes? 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Dabdoub's election petition against Vaz was not his 
first success in election law.  In 1997, then a member of the 
JLP himself, he challenged the PNP's Phyllis Mitchell for the 
North East St Catherine seat.  Initially Mitchell was 
declared the winner by a margin of 4,750 to 4,713.  However, 
Dabdoub rushed to the courts and filed an election petition 
claiming that the PNP candidate had benefited from 
impropriety in the voting and the court agreed throwing out 
several votes for Mitchell and proclaiming Dabdoub the 
winner.  Shortly after the 2002 general elections he left the 
JLP, unhappy with the return of Bruce Golding to the party, 
and joined the PNP. 
 
Results of the Supreme Court Case in Dabdoub v. Vaz 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶5. (U) Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Zaila McCalla, 
declared the Daryl Vaz was to be disqualified from serving in 
Parliament because his nomination had been in violation of 
the Constitution of Jamaica.  The judge gave a long 
explanation, citing numerous cases in common law, for her 
decision.  However the key point was her determination that 
although Vaz had naturalized as a minor involuntarily, by his 
own act of renewing U.S. passports and continuing to travel 
extensively using the U.S. passport he had demonstrated 
 
KINGSTON 00000310  002 OF 003 
 
 
voluntary allegiance to the United States.  Since the 
Jamaican Constitution in section 42 prohibits anyone who has 
sworn an allegiance to a foreign power from being nominated 
for Parliament, &he was not qualified to be elected and his 
nomination was null and void.8 
 
¶6. (SBU) Dabdoub was not present during the ruling; his 
lawyer stated that his client had a prior commitment and 
regretfully could not be present.  On the JLP side, Speaker 
of the House, Delroy Chuck, sat at the table beside the legal 
team of Daryl Vaz.  A handful of other JLP faithful were seen 
in attendance, along with Vaz and his wife Anne-Marie. 
Shortly before the final decision was handed down other JLP 
stalwarts were seen in the hallway outside the courtroom, 
including Area Council 2 Chairman James Robertson, who poked 
his head inside the room long enough to catch the Judge's 
proclamation that a by-election should be held to determine 
the MP for West Portland.  The defense team of Dabdoub was 
clearly disappointed in the split decision by Judge McCalla. 
Dabdoub and the PNP were pressing for the judge to declare 
votes for Vaz to be void and therefore Dabdoub the unanimous 
victor in the race.  However, McCalla stated that since Chief 
of the Election Commission Danville Walker had made at least 
two official public statements that all candidates for 
Parliament had been duly and legally nominated, the voters 
did not have sufficient reason to believe Vaz was not a legal 
candidate. 
 
A 42-Day Stay and More Appeals to Come 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) Legal counsel for both sides expressed an intent to 
appeal the decision made by the Supreme Court.  The 
petitioner (Dabdoub) wishing to be declared the de-facto MP 
since the votes for Vaz were made invalid by his 
ineligibility to run.  The Respondents still maintain that 
Vaz,s acts were not evidence of allegiance to the United 
States and state that the people have spoken by electing Vaz 
in the first place.  The PNP legal team also requested a stay 
while they prepare their appeal and asked that the judge 
defer the by-election until such an appeal can be filed.  The 
JLP counsel requested that Vaz be allowed to remain in 
Parliament until all appeals have been decided.  The judge 
ruled for a 42-day stay in the case until she can properly 
evaluate the requests, and agreed that Vaz should be allowed 
to remain in Parliament during the 42-day period. 
 
The Domino Effect 
------------------ 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Vaz case is just the first of four cases brought 
by the PNP against elected MPs of the JLP claiming 
allegiances to foreign powers make their nominations 
unlawful.  The remaining three cases are against: the second 
term MP from St Ann North East, Shahine Robinson; Gregory 
Mair in St Catherine North Eastern; and Michael Stern of 
Clarendon North Western.  Robinson and Stern were both U.S. 
Citizens at the time of nomination, but Stern has since 
renounced citizenship.  Mair is alleged to possess Venezuelan 
citizenship; however his legal team won the initial case, 
claiming that the petition had been improperly served while 
he was sitting in Parliament.  (Comment: Among all four 
disputed candidates, Shahine Robinson appears to have the 
weakest case, since she became a naturalized citizen of the 
U.S. as an adult.  During her previous term, when the PNP had 
a clear majority in Parliament, no one challenged her 
citizenship.  Also, Ian Hayles, PNP MP for Hanover Western 
has publicly admitted that he did not officially renounce his 
U.S. Citizenship until after the election, so the PNP has its 
own concerns with dual-national MPs.  End Comment.) 
 
¶9. (SBU) Vaz has announced that he will renounce U.S. 
Citizenship and prepare to run again for the seat during a 
by-election.  He called the CDA from the Prime Minister's 
office within an hour of the court decision, seeking 
information about renouncing his U.S. Citizenship, and was 
reffered to the American Citizen Services (ACS) section of 
the Embassy and informed the ACS Chief that he would like to 
begin the process of renunciation as quickly as possible.  In 
a press conference after the court decision, fellow JLP MP 
James Robinson predicted to the media that the JLP margin of 
victory in the by-election will be by 3,000 votes. 
 
Snap Elections or By-Elections? 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Following the chief Justice's ruling, the 
Opposition PNP says it is not hoping for a general election 
 
KINGSTON 00000310  003 OF 003 
 
 
this year, but if one is announced, it will put up a strong 
showing.  In an interview with the Sunday Gleanor Newspaper, 
PNP General Secretary Peter Bunting stated, &We are not 
clamoring for a general election.8  At least some political 
analysts predict the prospect of a series of potential 
by-elections may lead Prime Minister Bruce Golding (Ref C) to 
call a general election instead.  With his support at an 
all-time high in public opinion polls, and the Opposition PNP 
split into factions and rocked by numerous scandals and 
corruption allegations from their previous 18 year reign (Ref 
D), a general election may soon be too inviting for the JLP 
to forgo. 
JOHNSON