Historic Bill to transition Jamaica to republic tabled

Historic and landmark were the terms used as Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte yesterday (December 10) tabled the Constitution (Amendment) Republic Act 2024 in the House of Representatives.

The Bill aims to transition Jamaica from a constitutional monarchy to a republic with a Jamaican president at the helm.

Malahoo Forte had told the House a week earlier that the Bill could be ready for tabling this week, ahead of the Parliament going on the Christmas break.

Describing the moment as “historic” Malahoo Forte explained that by law, the Bill must lay on the table of the House for three months before it can be debated. That means the earliest time for the debate to commence is around mid-March next year.

As the minister had stated earlier, the Bill contains 36 clauses, a new Chapter 9(A), a proposed section 134 (A) and a Fourth Schedule for National Items.

“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,” Malahoo Forte said on December 3.

She said it will also entrench the Electoral Commission of Jamaica in the Constitution, “thereby giving it a permanent place in our laws”. Additionally, it will incorporate in the Constitution and provide for treatment of National Items, including National Symbols and Emblems.The Bill also provides for greater clarity on: citizenship; qualification and disqualification from the Parliament; and the appointment of senators independent of the political parties represented in the House, after general elections.

On Tuesday, acting Leader of Opposition Business in the House, Anthony Hylton described the tabling of the Bill as a "landmark occasion". A member of the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC), Hylton reminded that there were still differences to be sorted out between the Government and the Opposition.

“It is to be acknowledged that today is an important day, it marks a landmark in a journey that was started many years ago but, in this latest iteration, in March of last year," he remarked.

Hylton acknowledged the work of the members of the CRC and others, describing it as a “tremendous effort which we believe will redound to the benefit of the nation as a whole".

Mindful that the Opposition has insisted that it will not support the process until and unless the government commits to making the Caribbean Court of Justice Jamaica’s final appellate court, Hylton, who was the only member of the Opposition present when the bill was tabled, expressed hope that both sides “could find common ground that would enable us to make the critical steps needed".

He pointed out that the main differences were not contentious.

"They are issues and areas of concern but the goals and objectives are not contentious. There are different timelines and how to proceed but I believe, and I still hope that in the discussions to come, we can find the common ground on which to move forward in unity and in unison in the way that the entrenched positions in the constitution require,” Hylton said.Malahoo Forte also expressed the hope that both sides can sort out their differences in order not to derail the process.