LEGAL and Constitutional Affairs Minister Marlene Malahoo Forte is defending the Government’s efforts to make Jamaica a republic, following renewed public commentary and concerns about the pace of constitutional reform.

In a news release on Sunday, Malahoo Forte reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to removing the British monarch as head of State, calling the ongoing process the most advanced it has ever been in the country’s history.

She pointed to several milestones reached over the past two years, including the publication of recommendations made by the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC), the passage of a Bill to amend Section 61 of the constitution, and the tabling of the Constitution (Amendment) (Republic) Bill, 2024.

“The tabling of the Constitution (Amendment) (Republic) Bill, 2024 is the farthest any Government has gone towards Jamaica becoming a republic,” the minister said.

The Bill, tabled in Parliament in December 2024, proposes to replace the British monarch with a Jamaican president as the ceremonial head of State.

While acknowledging the concerns that the Bill will not be debated and voted on before the next general election, Malahoo Forte noted that the constitution outlines specific waiting periods that affect the pace of reform.

“Mandatory timelines are set out in the constitution itself which dictate the pace at which you move after a Bill to alter the constitution — in the way we are seeking to do — is tabled in the House of Representatives. Before you can commence the debate on the Bill you have a three-month waiting period, and after the debate is done you have another three-month waiting period before you can take the vote. These waiting periods amount to half a year,” she explained.

“When you factor in additional parliamentary and administrative procedures, the overall process extends further. The Bill must also be sent to the Senate to be debated and passed. Not less than two, nor more than six months after both Houses of Parliament pass the Bill, the people who vote in elections have to approve the Bill. The process, by design, is slow and deliberative,” Malahoo Forte said.

However, despite these delays, she believes the Government could have been further ahead in the process if there was more cooperation from the parliamentary Opposition throughout the process.

“Despite the notable progress, we recognise that more could have been achieved through a different, more unified approach in the national interest, which might have facilitated the Bill’s passage and allowed the second phase of work to commence during the life of this Parliament,” she said.

The minister said that following the tabling of the Bill in December 2024 a joint select committee of Parliament began its review in January 2025. However, Opposition members of the committee, including Opposition Leader Mark Golding, withdrew after the first meeting, citing disagreement over the decision to defer the issue of Jamaica’s final court to a later phase of the reform process.

Malahoo Forte’s news release was an obvious response to Golding’s comments on the matter in the current general election campaign.

Addressing a People’s National Party (PNP) meeting in Chapelton Square, Clarendon, on July 12 Golding criticised the Government’s handling of the reform process, describing it as problematic and biased.

“It was a totally misguided process from day one. They appointed a committee but they didn’t really include the representatives of the civil society and other groups who should have been at the table — they selected who they wanted to be there,” he charged.

Golding promised that if the PNP should form the next government, it will restart the process to ensure that it is done fairly and without bias.

“We will keep those bits of it that make sense, and are progressive, and for the people but we are going to ensure that civil society has a major role in what we are doing — and we are going to hear from the people. And we are not going to have any preconceived notions as to what the outcome should be. We want to hear what the people want as their constitution because we believe in participatory democracy,” he said.

He reaffirmed the PNP’s commitment to Jamaica becoming a republic but stressed that this must include adopting the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the country’s final court of appeal, particularly now that the CCJ has, for the first time, a Jamaican serving as its president.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs says it remains focused on public education and engagement as it works to complete the first phase of reform, with continued outreach to Jamaicans both locally and in the Diaspora.

GOLDING… promised that if the PNP forms the next government, it will restart the process to ensure that it is done fairly and without bias