Barbardos Sets the Date

The Prime Minister of Barbados has named 30 November 2016 as the date for the country to become a republic with a ceremonial president on the 50th anniversary of becoming a sovereign state. Like New Zealand, Barbados is following through quickly but the change is not yet assured. The ruling Democratic Labour Party has a majority in the upper house but not the lower house. A two-thirds majority parliamentary vote is  required and the Opposition is as yet undecided on its stance. Neighbouring Domenica (1978) and Trinidad and Tobago (1976) are both already republics. In 2012, Jamaica also announced it intends have its own head of state. Both Barbados and Jamaica, like Australia, are realms of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. The last realm to remove QEII was Mauritius in 1992, before that Fiji in 1987. The number of her realms has halved during the Queen’s reign.See also News Updates of 6 Jan 2012 (Jamaica) and 23 March 2015 (Barbados).