Kelly Chal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kelly Chal is a former New Zealand politician. She was elected to Parliament and and held her seat for 17 days before it was realised she was ineligible, not being a New Zealand citizen.
Chal was born in India, to a Sikh father and a Christian mother. She herself, however, is Christian, and has been involved with the evangelical Destiny Church. In New Zealand, she worked as a case manager for ACC and as a career counsellor.
In the 2002 election, Chal was ranked fifth on United Future's party list, and therefore was expected to enter Parliament. After the election, however, it emerged that Chal was not actually eligible to stand for election, as she was not a New Zealand citizen.[1] As a result, she was removed from the party list, allowing Paul Adams to enter Parliament in her place. It was suggested that legal action might be taken against Chal, as she had signed a declaration that she was eligible to stand. It was eventually decided, however, that Chal had made an honest mistake.[2] Chal did not contest the 2005 election.
[edit] References
- ^ David Green. Citizenship of members of Parliament', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Updated 21 September 2007.
- ^ No police probe into Chal error, TVNZ, 19 August 2002.
