Jamaica - Process of Becoming a Republic

King Charles (then Prince of Wales) in Jamaica in 2008
Andrew Brown Detroit, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

History: 

In 1962,  Jamaica gains its independence from the UK, going from a British Colony to independent country with Queen Elizabeth II as their Head of State/Monarch. (King Charles succeed her as King of Jamaica.)  When the committee in 1962 was creating Jamaica's new constitution, it considered Jamaica becoming a Republic from the start, but that was rejected. 

In 1975, Jamaica's 3rd Prime Minister Michael Manley established a Committee on Constitutional Reform, which would look at a whole range of things related to the constitution, including becoming a republic. In 1977, Prime Minister Manley announced his intent that Jamaica become a republic by 1981. Manley was voted out of office before more serious steps could be taken. 

Every Jamaican Prime Minister since then has supported the country becoming a Republic. Many have even announced deadlines for when they intent Jamaica to become a republic. But none have made serious steps toward that. While many support becoming a republic, the country lacks a 66% majority to pass the required constitutional change. 

In March 2023, the Prime Minister formed a Constitutional Reform Committee to look into and propose changed to the constitution to drop the monarchy and become a republic. 

Process: 

The table shows the required steps for Jamaica to become a republic. (For other realms, the process may vary based on the countries specific laws/constitution in that country). 

Just because a country begins the process doesn't mean they will succeed. Even if public support reaches 66% for the idea of republicanism, one hold up could be the proposed changes to the constitution (which was the possible fault for the 1999 referendum in Australia). 

Step	Process	Status
1	Constitutional Reform Committee (They will come up with the proposed changes to the constitution.)	March 2023-May 2024 Draft Report Full Report
		June 2024-  Present Draft Bill
2a	House of Representatives 2/3s Majority (66%) Vote	Waiting on Bill to be drafted
2b	Senate 2/3s Majority (66%) Vote	Waiting on Bill to be drafted
3	2/3s Vote Public Referendum (Informal polls over last decade show public support between 45-59%)	Can't happen until after successful vote in Parliament