KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC—Minister of Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte says the work being done to transition the country from a Constitutional Monarchy to a Republic is more than 50 percent complete.
The most recent move was tabling the Constitution (Amendment) (Republic) Bill, 2024, in December last year.
Malahoo Forte said the work to reform the Constitution is “not just about talk, and it truly begins when the Bill is before the Parliament.”
“You can only change the provisions of the Constitution by a Bill amending those provisions. With the Bill in the Parliament, we are more than 50 percent along the way. I would say that once the review is complete, the next thing is debating and passing the Bill in the House of Representatives,” she said.
The Bill is currently before a Joint Select Committee of Parliament. Following review, a report will be produced that will inform the debate in the Houses of Parliament.
Following passage of the Bill in the House of Representatives, it would then be sent to the Senate.
The Minister explained that if the Senate does not complete its vote on the Bill within a month, as prescribed by the Constitution, it will be deemed to be rejected, and the Bill will be returned to the House.
“We are going to be overtaken by the General Election. The good thing is that the alteration process in the Constitution recognizes that, too, and so the work can be done over different Parliaments.
“So, we are more than halfway both critically and qualitatively, because we have the Bill in Parliament; I would say it is the biggest achievement we have made, so far, in the process of reforming the Constitution to transition to a Republic,” Malahoo Forte said.
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