Jamaica's plans to become a republic independent from the British crown via a referendum could take place "as early as 2024," Jamaican Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte said in interview published on Thursday.
Malahoo noted the initiative is being fast-tracked in light of King Charles III's looming coronation. Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm with the British monarch as the head of state.
"While the United Kingdom is celebrating the coronation of the king, that is for the United Kingdom ... Jamaica is looking to write a new constitution... which will sever ties with the monarch as our head of state," Malahoo Forte told UK media.
She pointed out that, to arrange a referendum, a corresponding bill needs to be brought to the Jamaican parliament, which she expects to do in mid May, after the coronation. If the bill passes, the referendum may take place "as early as 2024."
The minister added that the Jamaican people felt affection toward and identified with Queen Elizabeth II, but it is not at all the case with King Charles III. Jamaicans, she said, are not willing to identify with the British royal family anymore, given the string of scandals that has played out in the mass media recently.
Meanwhile, Belizean Prime Minister Johnny Briceño said in an interview with British media that it was "quite likely" Belize would be the next Commonwealth realm to become a republic after Barbados’s exit in November 2021.
"I think the chance is quite high. It's quite likely," he said.
He also criticized the UK government, and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in particular, for failure to apologize for the years of slave trade in the kingdom's past. "I think he [Sunak] has a moral responsibility to be able to offer at the very least an apology ... He should have a better appreciation of it because of his ancestry," Briceño said.