Jamaicans Encouraged to Enumerate to Take Part in Referendum
By: , June 20, 2024
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte (centre), with (from left): Lawyer, Marlon Hill; Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Kamina Johnson Smith; Youth Representative on the Constitutional Reform Committee, Sujae Boswell; and International Constitutional Law Expert and Member of the Constitutional Reform Committee, Professor Richard Albert, at the 10th Biennial Diaspora Conference, on June 19, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.
Photo: Yhomo Hutchinson
Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte (second left), makes a point during a session at the 10th Biennial Diaspora Conference, on June 19, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James. Others (from left) are Lawyer, Marlon Hill; Youth Representative on the Constitutional Reform Committee, Sujae Boswell; and International Constitutional Law Expert and Member of the Constitutional Reform Committee, Professor Richard Albert.The Full Story
Jamaicans who are eligible to vote are being encouraged to enumerate, so they can participate in the process of Jamaica moving from a constitutional monarchy to a republic.
“Please enumerate to participate, the process will come down the road; keep in touch with what is happening,” Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte, urged.
Mrs. Malahoo Forte was speaking at the 10th Biennial Diaspora Conference on June 19, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St. James.
The Minister emphasised that the time has come for “the Head of State of Jamaica to be representative of the Jamaican nationality and the Jamaican identity”.
“The other goal we are seeking to achieve is to have the highest law of the land, the Constitution of Jamaica, passed by the Parliament of Jamaica and approved by the people of Jamaica,” Mrs. Malahoo Forte said.
The process of Jamaica moving from a constitutional monarchy to a republic will include a two-thirds majority vote in Parliament, along with a referendum.
In addition, the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) is moving to prepare drafting instructions for the substantive Bill to transition Jamaica from a constitutional monarchy to a republic.
The Minister further encouraged persons in Jamaica and in the diaspora to read the report from the Constitutional Reform Committee, which was tabled in Parliament recently and is available on the Ministry’s website at https://roadtorepublic.mlca.gov.jm/.
“You have a Ministry, and you have the consulates, embassies and the high commissions. If you have questions… drop your questions and I assure you all, the missions will ensure that we get it and that you get an answer,” Mrs. Malahoo Forte said.