Australia Deputy PM Disqualified From Office

A court ruled that the Australian Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce and four other politicians were elected wrongly simply because they held dual citizenship.
The High Court of Australia decision means that three of the politicians, including Mr Joyce, are disqualified from office. The others quit in July. Though the Australian constitution disqualifies dual citizenship from participating in elections.

I respect the verdict of the court. We live in a marvelous democracy, with all the checks and balances they have given us all the freedoms we see. I thank the court for their deliberations, Mr Joyce said immediately after the verdict.

The deputy prime minister, who renounced his New Zealand citizenship in August, has pledged to re-contest his lower house seat.

Mr Joyce's exit strips the government of its one-seat majority, but he could return through a by-election.