Jamaica May Follow Barbados to Become a Republic

Jamaica looks set to ditch the British monarchy and become a republic, with the Caribbean country setting up a new ministry to overhaul its legal system.

The new ministry, says Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen, will oversee “the process to shift Jamaica’s status as a constitutional monarchy,” according to local media reports.

Jamaica will be the fifth country in the region to become a republic after Guyana, Trinidad, Dominica, and Barbados.

Reports suggest that even the country’s opposition People’s National Party (PNP) favors the idea of becoming a republic.

However, the party has suggested to the government that it holds a referendum to know whether the citizens support its plan.

Recently, Barbados said goodbye to the British monarchy and appointed its own citizen as the head of state.

Most of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean were the colonies of European countries such as Portugal, Spain, and Britain.

Jamaica gained independence from the British 60 years ago. Over the past few decades, it made many attempts to ditch the British monarchy. All its attempts were failed because of a lack of support from the opposition parties.

Analysts say Jamaica will likely be successful this time, adding that Jamaicans made up their minds to turn the country into a republic after they watched the transition ceremony in Barbados.