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  • Jamaica presents bill to remove Charles as head of state
  • Critics say new president should be elected, not nominated
  • Debate on moving final court of appeal to Caribbean

KINGSTON/LONDON, March 1 (Reuters) - Many Jamaicans want their country to ditch King Charles as head of state but a bill presented by the government to do just that has frustrated some critics of the monarchy who believe the change should go further to slash colonial ties.

Jamaica gained independence in 1962 but - like 13 other former British colonies - it still retains the British monarch as its head of state.

Public opinion on the Caribbean island of nearly 3 million people has been shifting for years, and in December the government of Prime Minister Andrew Holness presented a bill to remove King Charles.

  • Stamau123@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
    2·
    20 hours ago

    From further in the article

    The bill is likely to pass the lower house of parliament as the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) currently has the two-thirds majority required, but it will need at least one opposition vote when it moves to the upper house. Even if rejected by the upper house, the bill can still be put to a national referendum, which the government hopes to hold by next year. To pass, the referendum would need two-thirds of the vote, rather than just a simple majority.

    An interesting legislative process, I kinda like it.

    • nogooduser@lemmy.worldEnglish
      7·
      14 hours ago

      I wish that we’d required two thirds majority for Brexit. It seems daft to do something so drastic when only 52% of voters wanted it (and just over a third of all people of voting age).