Sri Lankan MP with dual citizenship loses seat

A Sri Lankan court today stripped an actress-turned-politician of her seat in parliament after it was revealed she had Swiss nationality in addition to being a local citizen.
Sri Lanka-born Geetha Kumarasinghe, who built a following on the silver screen before winning a seat for President Maithripala Sirisena's party in the 2015 general election, violated a new law by holding dual citizenship, the Court of Appeal held.
"The court held that she had not provided any documents to support her claim that she had renounced her Swiss nationality," a court official told AFP.
The 61-year-old was also asked to pay back her salary as well as the cost of all other privileges she enjoyed as a lawmaker, including a luxury car.

Today's ruling is the first judgement on the issue of a foreign national holding elected office in the island nation.
The new government in 2015 amended the constitution to bar Sri Lankans with dual citizenship from contesting elections, a move that directly affected two brothers of former strongman president Mahinda Rajapakse who held US citizenship.