THE ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), in an apparent move to even the score politically, yesterday moved a motion seeking to unseat South Central St Catherine member of Parliament Sharon Hay-Webster on grounds that she holds United States citizenship.

The move came on the heels of last week’s Supreme Court ruling which disqualified the JLP’s Shahine Robinson as MP for the St Ann North East constituency. Robinson was the subject of an election petition brought by the People’s National Party’s (PNP’s) Manley Bowen on an allegation that she held US citizenship at the time of her election in 2007. The governing party now holds a slim 31-28 majority over the PNP.

The two parties have been haunted by allegations of ineligibility of members who were elected in the September 2007 general elections.

Already disqualifications from court actions brought by the PNP have resulted in by-elections in three constituencies, which were won by the JLP.

However, the JLP’s Daryl Vaz (West Portland), Gregory Mair (North East St Catherine), and Michael Stern (North West Clarendon) were all re-elected.

Attention has since been trained on the PNP’s Haye-Webster and Ian Hayles, who are also alleged to have held dual citizenship at the time of their nomination.

Yesterday, the JLP’s Mair, who brought the motion, called upon the House to “invite (Hay-Webster) to immediately renounce her position as a member of the House in accordance with the principle of law upheld by the ruling Court of Appeal”.

Mair made his call against the background of what he said was Hay-Webster’s public declaration that she was born in the United States and held a US passport.

He said only last year, the South Central St Catherine MP also publicly acknowledged that she still held an American passport.

The motion is to be debated when the House meets next week.