Liberia: Dual Citizenship Still Remains Unresolved As Senate Plans to Amend 1973 Alien and Nationality Law, Subject Article 28 of Constitution to Referendum
Published: 21/Oct/2021
Source: Front Page Africa (Monrovia)
By Lennart Dodoo
MONROVIA – The Pro-Tempore of the Liberian Senate, Albert T. Chie (CDC, Grand Kru County), says the Supreme Court’s December 2019 Opinion forbidding the automatic forfeiture of Liberian citizenship does not in other words permit dual citizenship.
According to Senator Chie, the permanent way to lay the issue of dual citizenship to rest is through a National Referendum to amend Article 28 of the Constitution.
Article 28 states: “Any person, at least one of whose parents was a citizen of Liberia at the time of the Person’s birth, shall be a citizen of Liberia; provided that any such person shall upon reaching maturity renounce any other citizenship acquired by virtue of one parent being a citizen of another country. No citizen of the Republic shall be deprived of citizenship or nationality except as provided by law; and no person shall be denied the right to change citizenship or nationality.”
“Unfortunately, this provision did not pass in the December 2020 Referendum. This provision of the Constitution is regarded as prohibition against dual citizenship. Therefore, the issue of dual citizenship is Liberia is yet to be resolved as far as we concerned,” Senator Chie said.