Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Hip-hop artist and presidential hopeful Wyclef Jean said on Saturday that as leader he would work to change Haiti's constitution to allow dual citizenship and give many Haitians living abroad the right to vote.
The issue is central in Haiti where hundreds of thousands have fled poverty and the money they send home from abroad is the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean nation's main money earner and vital to its economic survival.
Currently, Haitians who emigrate must renounce their Haitian citizenship if they become citizens of another country, making them unable to vote or run for office in their homeland. Jean himself left Haiti for New York City when he was nine, but never sought US citizenship. The former Fugees frontman told The Associated Press that his presidency would be a "bridge" between the Haitians abroad and those living in the country.
"The future is dual citizenship," he said, adding that many countries, including the neighbouring Dominican Republic, allows its citizens to hold two passports.
Haitians abroad "should have the right to vote in their country", especially since they send billions in remittances to family members.
"If they are the ones who keep this country alive, they should have some kind of say on what kind of government structure there is," the 40-year-old singer said.
Jean arrived in Haiti from Belgium, where he held a concert — possibly one of his last for five years if elected, he said.
The singer, who appeared relaxed and was wearing a blue adidas tracksuit and headphones around his neck, spoke to AP at the main airport in Port-au-Prince. He touched on issues of security, former Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide and on what being a celebrity has taught him about politics.
"Celebrity has taught me that politics is politricks," he said. "The fact that I'm coming with this with fresh eyes but not naive ears, I think that's a good start."
But he spent most of the interview discussing the Haitian diaspora, concentrated mainly in Miami, New York, Paris and Montreal.
People in Haiti have long relied on family and friends abroad to make ends meet. Remittances are the main source of income in the country of more than 9 million people, 70 per cent of whom are unemployed and 90 per cent of whom live in poverty.
According to a survey for the Inter-American Development Bank, 33 per cent of Haitians receive cash from abroad and nearly 75 per cent of the money is spent on food, housing, utilities and clothing. Food and other gifts were also sent.
The average remittance in Haiti is about $150 (Dh551.7) and those who receive them typically get about 10 transfers a year, for an average total of $1,500, the IDB survey shows. A Haitian's per-capita income in 2008 was about $1,300, according to the CIA World Factbook.
