Golding proves UK citizenship renunciation

In a bid to finally put to rest the ongoing debate about his citizenship status, Opposition Leader Mark Golding has disclosed documents from the United Kingdom Home Office confirming his renunciation as a citizen of that country.

Documents, including a cover letter and an official declaration of renunciation obtained by The Gleaner, confirmed that Golding ceased being a British citizen on August 5, 2024.

The People’s National Party (PNP) president acquired British citizenship by descent through his father Sir John Golding who was born in the country.

“I’m writing to inform you that the above named is now registered as having renounced British citizenship. Endorsed is the declaration of renunciation bearing a stamp of registration. This confirms the date on which the applicant ceased to be a British citizen under section 12(1) of the British Nationality Act of 1981,” the letter addressed to Golding said.

It continued: “Any British travel document that you may still hold should be returned to Her Majesty.”

The letter further informed that the renunciation affects, among other things, Golding’s right to live in the United Kingdom.

The document was signed by Lesley Davis of the UK Home Office.

VAZ DEMANDS PROOF

Golding’s disclosure on Friday comes amid repeated assertions by Cabinet Minister Daryl Vaz that the opposition leader has failed to prove the renunciation of his British citizenship.

“Mark Golding has shown zero evidence of the renunciation of his UK citizenship. Now that he has made such statements in Parliament we again ask Mark Golding to present evidence,” Vaz said in a March 18 post on X.

In a similar post on X, Vaz, the minister of science, energy, telecommunications and transport, criticised Golding for reading the words of Jamaica’s national song as he ended his contribution to the 2025-2026 Budget Debate on Tuesday in Parliament.

“…He couldn’t recite it. Yet he expects us to believe that he is a Jamaican citizen,” said the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member of parliament, who was ousted from the Portland Western seat by the courts because he held both United States and Jamaican citizenship at the time of the 2007 general election.

The PNP’s Abraham Dabdoub, an attorney-at-law who contested the seat in the September 3 general election that year and lost to Vaz, brought the issue of his suitability to the courts.

After renouncing his US citizenship, Vaz contested and won the court-ordered by-election in March 2009, increasing his margin of victory over new PNP candidate Kenneth Rowe.

Vaz and controversial MP for St Catherine South Western Everald Warmington have been among those from the government benches leading the charge against Golding’s suitability to contest for the Office of Prime Minister, with the latter declaring that his race disqualifies him.

OFFICIAL FROM AUGUST 2024

Golding, in June 2024, announced that he would begin the process for renunciation, after confirming his UK citizenship status a month prior. The decision followed widespread calls for him to declare his loyalty to Jamaica amid questions concerning his allegiance to the country.

At that time, Golding said data on the views of Jamaicans on the issue of political leaders holding dual citizenship informed his decision to take steps to renounce.

Golding said then that he had pledged that if it became apparent that the public’s view was that political leaders should be exclusively Jamaican citizens he would take that into account.

He had before then maintained that it was not illegal for him to hold dual citizenship because the Jamaican Constitution allows Commonwealth citizens to sit in Parliament.

In September last year, Golding announced that he no longer held dual citizenship.

“I have received a letter and the official declaration of renunciation – dated the 5th August 2024 – from the United Kingdom (UK) Home Office, confirming that the renunciation is complete,” Golding told The Gleaner in a September 10, 2024, article.

However, he had not made the documents public and the calls continued up to this week for him to provide evidence of the renunciation.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com