Jamaica prepares to cut ties with the British monarchy through historic bill – Voice Online

JAMAICA’S BILL to transition to a republic and remove King Charles as head of state is ready, a top government minister has said.

According to the Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte, the Constitution (Amendment) (Republic of Jamaica Bill) – could be tabled in Jamaican Parliament as early as next week, the Jamaica Observer reported.

Malahoo Forte also said the Bill has gone through several revisions and  when passed into law, the Bill will abolish the constitutional monarchy and replace the British Monarchy with a Jamaican president – as Jamaica’s formal head of state..

“I am pleased to inform this Honourable House and the people of Jamaica that review of the Constitutional (Amendment) (Republic [of Jamaica]) Bill is far advanced. It is quite possible to complete the remaining steps for the Bill to be tabled as early as next week – before the Christmas break,” Malahoo Forte said.

Last year, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said it was time for the government to move forward with “speed” to transition to a republic.

“It is time that Jamaica becomes a republic. For us, the process is not simple, and we have known this since we started on this journey. And we are making sure that we check every box as we move deliberately in that regard,” Holness said.

“So I’m saying to you minister (Malahoo Forte), please move ahead with speed and alacrity on this matter, Jamaica must become a republic.”

Malahoo Forte has outlined that the proposed bill contains 36 clauses.

National goals

“It is intended to achieve national goals about which there is no dispute on either side of the parliamentary aisle… When passed into law, it will put the Constitution of Jamaica in proper form, as the supreme law of the land,” the minister explained.

The Bill also provides for greater clarity issues like citizenship; qualification and disqualification from the Parliament.

Before passing of the Bill by the House it must be introduced and debated and passed in both Houses of Parliament by a two-thirds majority.

Jamaicans will also have the opportunity to decide in a referendum whether they want to remove the British Monarchy.  

The Jamaica Labour Party led by Holness will need the support of the Opposition to move forward with the transition – which could cause problems.

In 2023, the government accused the People’s National Party (PNP) of failing to name their two members of Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) and this had stalled the Caribbean country’s plans to move towards the next steps of implementing constitutional reform.

In June 2022, Malahoo Forte said Jamaica will transition to a republic by 2025 – in time for the next general election.

There is a growing republican movement across the region, following Barbados’ highly publicised transition to a republic in November 2021 – which marked the Caribbean nation’s 55^th year of independence.

Since then, several Caribbean islands including Belize, Antigua and Barbuda and The Bahamas have hinted they may cut ties with the British Monarch as their head of state.