KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaicans may need to participate in several referenda as the country moves to become a Republic, says Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte.
Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo ForteShe made the disclosure in a statement to the House of Representatives detailing the work of the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC).
“We will proceed only with those matters on which we have consensus, and this may mean that we’ll have to prepare ourselves, as a Parliament and as a nation perhaps, for more than one referendum if needs be,” the Minster stated.
She reported that the Committee has met five times since the members were announced, adding that other engagements have been held.
Among these are meetings of the public engagement and communication subcommittee, as well as discourse with other stakeholders such as the Executive Committee of the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches, the National Youth Council, and various media houses.
The Minister also indicated that since the CRC commenced its work, numerous comments have been made, issues highlighted, questions asked, and concerns raised about its composition and the process of deliberation.
“Permit me to use this opportunity to remind that formal terms of reference were finalized and agreed to by the Committee. Among other things, these terms indicate that we are building on the vast body of work previously done. They specify that the work will be carried out in phases with proposed timelines, and that decisions on what to recommend are being made by consensus,” Malahoo Forte stated.
She also reiterated that the Committee’s work is being executed in three phases.
These, the Minister informed, include bringing the Constitution home by having it enacted as an instrument of the Parliament of Jamaica, abolition of the constitutional monarchy and the establishment of the Republic of Jamaica, and other matters that fall within the deeply entrenched provisions of the Constitution, for which a referendum is required to amend.
Minister Malahoo Forte said the ambitious timeline indicated for tabling the Bill in phase one that the electorate will vote on to approve is doable.
“It is doable because the work is not starting from scratch. The list of issues to be put to the referendum are specified in the Constitution; it is not a long list,” she stated.
The Minister informed that this list includes the process of altering the Constitution; the effect of the Constitution as the supreme law of the land; the establishment of the Parliament comprising the Monarch, a Senate and the House of Representatives; and the composition of the Senate, with 13 members appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister and eight on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition.
It will also specify who is qualified for membership in both Houses, the sessions, life and extension of the Parliament; the appointment of Senators in the aftermath of general elections; where the executive authority of Jamaica is vested; and matters relating to the provisions of the Jamaica Independence Act.
“As I indicated previously, in phase two, we will review other ordinarily entrenched provisions of the Constitution, for which amendments are desired and required, including the wordings and provisions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms set out at Chapter Three,” Malahoo Forte said.
“We will also proceed to do the full assessment and bringing it together in a new Constitution of Jamaica. All decisions of the CRC have been and will continue to be made by consensus. All issues are robustly discussed, taking into account views in the public domain and the experience of the CRC members and the recommendations of the Joint Select Committee on Constitutional and Electoral Reform that was done in 1995.”
She further noted that members of the public will have an opportunity to provide feedback on all recommendations made by the CRC, before a submission goes to the Cabinet for its approval.
