Patrice Backer, a Haitian-American resident in Florida writes to explain the reason behind President-elect Rene Garcia Preval’s statement about changing the Haitian Constitution to authorize dual citizenship for Haitians. He says that dual citizenship is one of the hottest issues in Haiti today, and writes that there is nothing further from the truth than the supposed plot to take over the Dominican Republic behind the interest, as Dominican Deputy Pelegrin Castillo commented yesterday in Listin Diario, as reported in DR1 Daily News.<\/p>\n
“A Haitian-American businessman, Dumarsais Simeus from Texas, tried to run for the Haitian Presidency this year and was unceremoniously rebuffed by the Haitian political elite, which hid behind constitutional clauses that prevent Haitians who have acquired another citizenship from voting, let alone running for office in Haiti,” he explains. He adds that the 1987 Constitution actually prohibits dual citizenship.<\/p>\n
“Concerned Haitian-Americans have mounted a drive to amend the Haitian Constitution so that the Haitian Diaspora can have political rights commensurate with its weight in the Haitian economy. The Diaspora represents more than 30% of Haiti’s GDP through the remittances it sends to Haiti every year. Without the Diaspora, the country would have completely collapsed years ago,” he highlights.<\/p>\n
He explains that the President-elect is simply responding to the wishes of a constituency that matters to him. He concurs that in the light of the Supreme Court’s decision that only children born to legal foreign residents in the DR have the right to Dominican citizenship, Preval’s proposal is unlikely to have an impact on Dominicans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Patrice Backer, a Haitian-American resident in Florida writes to explain the reason behind President-elect Rene Garcia Preval’s statement about changing the Haitian Constitution to authorize dual citizenship for Haitians. He says that dual citizenship is one of the hottest issues in Haiti today, and writes that there is nothing further from the truth than the … <\/p>\n