ST KITTS and Nevis will consider becoming a republic, according to a senior minister.
Foreign Minister Denzil Douglas has said it is time for the twin island nation to become a “truly independent country”. Axios World reports.
The news follows similar announcements from Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda – which have announced plans to transition to republic status.
Douglas served as Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis between 1995 and 2015.
He said Axios World, some countries kept Queen Elizabeth II as head of state for “sentimental” reasons.
“It was not offensive to us,” although “of course, we understand what the developing world suffered as a colony.”
New beginnings
King Charles III is now head of state in several Caribbean islands, including Antigua, the Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Doulas represented St Kitts and Nevis at the Queen’s funeral last month and described relations with the UK as “extremely good”.
He believes now is the time for big changes in the country and throughout the Caribbean.
After the Queen’s death “it encourages people to realize that we have to face our future in a real and positive way”.
“It’s a real trend that more and more countries in the Caribbean are following,” he says.
“One of the most interesting things, though, is that one can continue to be a member of the Commonwealth and continue a very good relationship with the United Kingdom.”
Phillip Davis, the prime minister of the Bahamas, recently said he plans to hold a referendum on becoming a republic and asked Bahamians to decide whether the country should cut ties with the British monarchy.
Douglas says there is “no particular timeline” for a constitutional referendum for his country, but it is time for the conversation to begin.
Caribbean Republics
If St Kitts and Nevis becomes the next Caribbean republic, the country will follow in the footsteps of others in the region who elected a head of state in the country.
Guyana became a republic in 1970, followed by Trinidad and Tobago in 1976 and Dominica in 1978.
Last year, Barbados became the world’s youngest republic on November 30, which marked the Caribbean nation’s 55th anniversary.th the year of independence.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Haiti became the world’s first black republic and the first independent Caribbean nation after overthrowing French colonial control.
Haitian independence is said to have influenced many subsequent rebellions by enslaved people throughout the Caribbean.
Belize and Jamaica
Earlier this year, both Belize and Jamaica signaled plans to become republics.
In March, Minister of Constitutional and Political Reform, Henry Charles Usher told fellow ministers in the Belizean parliament that Belize must own their independence.
In June, a senior minister announced in the House of Representatives that Jamaica will transition to a republic by 2025.
According to the Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte, a Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC) is now being established.
“The aim is to eventually produce a new Constitution of Jamaica, adopted by the Parliament of Jamaica, to, among other things, establish the Republic of Jamaica as a parliamentary republic, replacing the Constitutional Monarchy and affirming our self-determination and cultural heritage. said Mrs. Malahoo Forte.
