HILARY HOSIA
Members of the United Church of Christ engaged in a lively discussion with the Post Constitution Convention Committee last Friday at the UCC headquarters in Uliga.
The forum centered on the seven proposed amendments that will be up for vote in the upcoming Constitutional Convention in mid-April next year.
Former Parliament Speaker Kenneth Kedi joined the team of public educators in the discussions as a consultant for the Post Concon committee.
Of the seven proposals, heated conversations revolved around specimen One, citizenship eligibility, and specimen Five, eligibility to become a Nitijela candidate.
The crowd seemed to weigh in more on the conservation side of the dialogue and commended the intent of the proposed amendments. Proposals One and Five calls for a stricter approach in regards to eligibility of citizenship or Nitijela candidacy. Currently, by law, non-citizens can acquire citizenship by residing in RMI for three years or by adopting a Marshallese child or by marriage to a Marshallese.
The proposed amendment will spike the residency requirement to 10 years, of which a non-citizen would be required to live in RMI 10 consecutive years to become eligible to apply for citizenship. Those who lived in RMI for 10 years then can adopt or marry a Marshallese.
Proposal Five calls for a natural-born Marshallese born to Marshallese parents with a jowi (family clan). The current requirement allows naturalized citizens without the requirement of jowi to be eligible for Nitijela.
A question was raised about current naturalized Marshallese currently holding leadership positions. Answer from the public educators: as long as the person in question is not running for Nitijela, then they are safe to hold their leadership position, whether it’s in local government or other areas of government.