Jamaica Makes First Move Towards Removing King Charles As Head Of State

The government of Jamaica has taken steps to become a republic by replacing King Charles as its ceremonial head of state.

The Constitution (Amendment) Republic Act 2024, which would begin the process of replacing King Charles with a Jamaican president, was introduced in the House of Representatives, the Lower House of Parliament, on December 10 by Jamaica’s Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte.

According to the BBC, Forte previously stated that Jamaica would transition to a republic by the next general election in 2025, and the 76-year-old King is the head of state in 14 realms, including Jamaica.

Forte described the step as a “historic moment,” according to the Jamaica Observer.

According to the site, before the law can be read a second time, it will remain on the House table until March 2025.

“The tabling of the bill marks the greatest progress made so far in our effort to reform the Constitution of Jamaica to achieve the national goals of having a Jamaican as head of state instead of the hereditary British monarch and also having our supreme law taken out from under the cloak of the imperial Order in Council and placed in proper form,” Forte said, according to the Jamaica Gleaner.

The congressman said that the bill was introduced on the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late Michael Manley, Jr., a social justice activist, former Jamaican prime minister, and adversary of imperialism, as well as International Human Rights Day.

According to Forte, who spoke to The Guardian, the bill was submitted in response to the desire for constitutional change in Jamaica.

“Every year when we celebrate independence on August 6, the nation is invited to reflect on its achievements since independence and what remains to be done, and every year the question is asked when are we going to abolish the monarchy and have a Jamaican head of state,” the politician said in a piece published on Dec. 13.

Jamaica chose to keep Queen Elizabeth as its head of state even after gaining independence in 1962 following more than three centuries of British colonial rule.