Opposition Leader Mark Golding says he will not rush to renounce his British citizenship, despite several calls from stakeholders and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) for him to do so.

Golding made the comments during a recent interview on the podcast “Context Matters,” hosted by Jamaican attorney Isat Buchanan.

“As I said before, it is something I am meditating on right now about this renunciation thing. I don’t feel any rush because I am lawfully in Parliament; I am a Jamaican-born citizen. I have a right to be in Parliament if the people let me, and the people of South St. Andrew elected me, so I am there to represent them in Parliament,” Golding said.

Reacting to the move by Government Senator Matthew Samuda to publicly announce that he is in the process of renouncing his British citizenship, Golding says he will not be hasty to renounce his citizenship.

“I noticed one guy today rushed, after he got out on the radio, to announce that he renounced his thing. He wasn’t born in Jamaica. He was apparently born in London. Me no operate so. Me not moving on any ‘bummy’ basis. I am meditating on this thing, saying my prayers on it, and listening to what is happening. I want a proper dialogue and conversation in Jamaica about dual citizenship. About who we are—millions of Jamaicans who live outside of Jamaica, many of whom are dual citizens—and how we plan to engage with them, deal with them, and treat them.

“When we get through that debate, if the preponderance of opinion is that I should, as leader of the PNP [People’s National Party], leader of the opposition, and prime minister-in-waiting, not have dual citizenship, then I will give it up because I intend to serve Jamaica to the best of my capacity. I will give it up, but I am not rushing to go do it because two guys say I should or three guys say it,” he said.

Despite calls for Golding to renounce his British citizenship, he contended that the law does not require him to do so to serve in Parliament. The Jamaican Constitution currently allows Commonwealth citizens aged 21 and older to sit in Parliament.

Golding says the debate surrounding dual citizenship is an important one that should be explored.

“This is an important debate that Jamaica needs to have. Many Jamaicans depend on their relatives abroad to survive; many of these relatives are dual citizens. How do they feel about being told that the relatives that mine them, support them, or provide help for them are not good enough to serve in our Jamaican Parliament? I don’t know how they are going to feel about that argument,” Golding argued.