Jamaica removing King Charles as Head of State may require several referenda

Neil Martin Ifrmyma2goy Unsplash
Road sign to Buckingham Palace (photo: Neil Martin)

Jamaicans may need to participate in several referenda as the country moves to become a republic, said Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte in a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday (18 April) detailing the work of the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC). Malahoo Forte further noted that all the CRC’s decisions will be made via consensus, “We will proceed only with those matters on which we have consensus, and this may mean that we’ll have to prepare ourselves, as a Parliament and as a nation perhaps, for more than one referendum if needs be”.

Malahoo Forte also reported that the committee has met five times since the members were announced. Among these were meetings of the public engagement and communication subcommittee, as well as discourse with other stakeholders such as the Executive Committee of the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches, the National Youth Council, and various media houses.

Since the CRC commenced its work, numerous comments have been made, issues highlighted, questions asked, and concerns raised about its composition and the process of deliberation. “Permit me to use this opportunity to remind [you] that formal terms of reference were finalised and agreed to by the Committee. Among other things, these terms indicate that we are building on the vast body of work previously done. They specify that the work will be carried out in phases with proposed timelines, and that decisions on what to recommend are being made by consensus,” Malahoo Forte stated.

She reiterated that the committee’s work is being executed in three phases. These are: (i) bringing the Constitution home by having it enacted as an instrument of the Parliament of Jamaica; (ii) abolition of the constitutional monarchy and the establishment of the Republic of Jamaica; and (iii) other matters that fall within the deeply entrenched provisions of the Constitution, for which a referendum is required to amend.

Malahoo Forte said the ambitious timeline will see the tabling of the Bill in phase one and the electorate will vote to approve that it is doable “because the work is not starting from scratch. The list of issues to be put to the referendum are specified in the Constitution; it is not a long list”. The list includes the process of altering the Constitution; the effect of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land; the establishment of the Parliament comprising the monarch, a Senate and the House of Representatives; and the composition of the Senate, with 13 members appointed on the advice of the prime minister and eight on the advice of the leader of the opposition.

The minister further noted that members of the public will have an opportunity to provide feedback on all recommendations made by the CRC, before a submission goes to the Cabinet for its approval.

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