Jamaica’s opposition renews call for talks as republic plans remain stalled
The People’s National Party used independence celebrations to press for negotiations, but the parties remain divided over replacing the Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice.
KINGSTON, Jamaica. Jamaica’s main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has renewed its call for formal talks with the government to break the impasse over the island becoming a republic.
The party used celebrations for Jamaica’s 64th independence anniversary to restate its willingness to negotiate. Guyana, Trinidad, Barbados and Dominica are already republics within Caricom; Barbados was the last to make the switch, in late 2021.
Court of appeal dispute
The main sticking point is the PNP’s demand that Jamaica leave the British Privy Council as its final court of appeal and join the Trinidad-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) when it becomes a republic.
The governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) does not fully trust the regional court to rule impartially, preferring judges in England who are removed from daily Caribbean life over justices who live in the region and may be subject to lobbying.
The JLP has suggested making the switch to a republic first and acceding to the CCJ later. The PNP rejects this, arguing that no effort would be made to join the regional court once republican status was achieved.
Independence messages
In his independence message, Opposition Leader Golding called again for talks with Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
“It is time to come together to fully decolonise our 1962 constitution so that our head of state is no longer a foreign monarch and our final court is no longer the colonial vestige of that monarch,” Golding said.
Holness did not dwell on the issue in his own speech. “Independence is not a single moment in history,” he said. “It is a responsibility renewed by every generation.”
Nationwide consultations on constitutional change have been completed, but both parties are holding their positions.
The two sides need each other: the change requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority and a referendum. Parliamentary efforts ended with the dissolution of the house late last year ahead of general elections, and officials say the bill has not been placed on the agenda in the new term.
