A senior Government official has made an urgent appeal for a restart of the drawn out constitutional reform process that would remove the British Monarch as Jamaica’s head of state and urged lawmakers on the Opposition side to nudge their leader back to the negotiating table.

The Constitution (Amendment) (Republic) Act 2024, which was tabled in Parliament on December 10, 2024 by then Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte, sought to abolish the constitutional monarchy and transition Jamaica to a republic.

Replacing the British Monarch with a ceremonial president as Jamaica’s head of state was among the key recommendations made by a specially appointed Constitutional Reform Committee tasked with leading the process.