61% of Jamaicans say Golding Should Renounce British Citizenship

Just over 60 per cent of Jamaicans say PNP President Mark Golding should renounce his British citizenship.

That’s according to a recent Bluedot poll. It’s the first official measurement of public opinion since Mr. Golding revealed that he holds dual citizenship.

Mahiri Stewart reports.

This was the PNP president’s response recently as he reflected on whether he would be prepared to renounce his British citizenship.

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Mr. Golding now has a definitive answer from Jamaicans. They want him to give up the British trappings and privileges.

When the Bluedot pollsters asked 1,020 Jamaicans if Mark Golding should renounce his British citizenship if he plans to be prime minister, 61 per cent of respondents said yes.

Only 29 per cent of respondents were prepared to countenance Mr. Golding’s bid for Jamaica House while he maintains citizenship of a country that was once a colonial power.

But it’s not just a legal question that’s facing the opposition leader, the dual citizenship saga has also complicated his political prospects.

The Bluedot pollsters found that 53 per cent of respondents are now less likely to view the opposition leader as a potential prime minister of Jamaica, owing to his divided loyalties.

That’s against the 31 per cent of respondents who said the revelation of Golding’s dual citizenship has made no impact on their perception of him as a future prime minister.

Only 7 per cent indicated they were more likely to see him as a potential prime minister.

There are also signs that the duality of Mr. Golding’s citizenship is having some negative effect on how voters perceive the People’s National Party.

When asked whether all they have seen and heard recently changed their perception of the PNP, 31 per cent said it had had no change.

The trouble for Mr. Golding is that 10 per cent said it had somewhat negatively affected their perception of the PNP and nearly 18 per cent said it had very negatively affected their perception of the PNP.

That combined negative perception stands at 28 per cent.

Fourteen per cent had a combined positive perception of the PNP following the citizenship row.

Now that Mr. Golding has an answer from the Jamaican people , the question on renunciation this week is sure to be will he or won’t he?

The Bluedot poll was conducted between May 22 and June 5. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 per cent.