This article by Barbara Blake-Hannah, an anti-racism activist and former British TV presenter, is delightfully upbeat. What a contrast it is to the feeling about the progressing of the Australian Republic as Australia Day, with all its unresolved conflicts, rolls around once again. Jamaica has announced intentions to become a republic for years but has never had the momentum to follow through (requires a referendum). But the death of their Queen and Head of State, Elizabeth; William and Kate’s disastrous tour to the Caribbean earlier in the year and envy of their small neighbour Barbados, which beat them to it in late 2021, has kick-started the move towards a republic in Jamaica pushed along by an energetic and receptive Prime Minister. It is feel-good fodder for Australian republicans.
She also reports, “The Jamaican government has created a new ministry with a specific mandate to lead Jamaica along the steps to becoming a republic – and promises that it can be accomplished within a year. When the monarch is replaced as head of state, it looks likely from current discussions that a president will be appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the leader of the opposition and confirmed by a two-thirds majority of both houses of parliament with a six-year term of office, limited to two terms.”
