Barbados To Become Republic on November 30

On Wednesday, Barbados’s Parliament unanimously approved a constitutional reform to turn the Caribbean country into a republic and end its association with the British Crown.

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In addition to revoking the 1966 Order of Barbados as an Order in her Majesty's Council, the constitutional reform establishes that a Barbadian should be head of state instead of Queen Elizabeth II.

In the future, the inhabitants will no longer swear allegiance to her Majesty but to the State of Barbados and the continuity of its institutions. The new legal status will take effect as of November 30.

In Barbados, the dialogue to effect the transition from a situation of dependence on the Crown to a parliamentary republic began in 1998. During an intervention before the Legislature, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley stated that the constitutional reform closes the discussion on the independence of the country.

Parliament's vote tells the world that "we have the confidence in ourselves to be fully responsible for who we are and what we do," she said.

Mottley and opposition leader Reverend Joseph Atherley will make a nomination for president for Barbados and then an election date will be set. Later, the authorities will inform the citizens when the new President will be sworn in.

The constitutional reform eliminates the figure of "British head of state" for Barbados, which has been in force since the English landed on the Caribbean island in 1625. Although Barbados ceased to be a British colony in 1966, it remained dependent on the Palace of Buckingham ever since.