Kelly Chal is a former New Zealand politician. She was elected to parliament as a member of the

United Future party The People Power Party (; PPP), formerly known as the United Future Party (; UFP), is a conservative political party in South Korea. Controlling the South Korean presidency, it is the second largest party in the National Assembly. PPP, alon ...

and held her seat for 17 days before it was realised she was ineligible, not being a New Zealand citizen.

Early life

Chal was born in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to a

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

father and a Christian mother. She herself is

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. ''

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand ''Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand'' is an online encyclopedia established in 2001 by the New Zealand Government's Ministry for Culture and Heritage. The web-based content was developed in stages over the next several years; the first s ...

'' describes her as "an Indian-born Englishwoman who had not taken out New Zealand citizenship." In New Zealand, she worked as a case manager for the

Accident Compensation Corporation The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) ( mi, Te Kaporeihana Āwhina Hunga Whara) is the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for administering the country's no-fault accidental injury compensation scheme, commonly referred to as the ACC sch ...

and as a career counsellor.

Member of Parliament

In the 2002 election the

ranked Chal fifth on its

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can ...

, and therefore she was expected to enter parliament. After the election, however, it emerged that Chal could not legally stand for election, as she lacked New Zealand citizenship.David Green
"Citizenship of members of Parliament"
''Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand''. Updated 21 September 2007. 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. The authorities eventually decided, however, that Chal had made an honest mistake. Chal did not contest the 2005 election.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) United Future politicians Indian expatriates in New Zealand 21st-century New Zealand women politicians New Zealand people of Indian descent Unsuccessful candidates in the 2002 New Zealand general election {{NewZealand-politician-stub