Scott-Mottley: New PNP administration would reopen constitutional reform process
Published:Thursday | July 17, 2025 | 12:10 AM
Opposition spokesperson on Justice Donna Scott-Mottley says a new People’s National Party (PNP) government would reopen some aspects of the constitutional reform process to give Jamaicans a greater say in the proposed changes to the country’s supreme law.
The Constitution (Amendment) (Republic) Bill, 2024 which was tabled in Parliament late last year, will not be debated and voted on by lawmakers before Jamaicans go to the polls to elect a new government.
The bill was intended to, among other things, abolish the constitutional monarchy and move the country towards a republic.
Scott-Mottley, who was a member of the Constitutional Reform Committee, said there was insufficient consultation with the public on the matter. She argued that it was only because of public outcry why there was the staging of town hall meetings.
“What we would want is a broader discussion, so we can have national consensus on some issues which have been raised by the public,” she said.
On the question of the presidency, the opposition spokesperson said some Jamaicans have been calling for an elected president. “I think we need to have that discussion and how we would fit it into a parliamentary structure. What is the architecture that we would use to accomplish that? At [the] least, for people to know that they have been heard and listened to.”
Further, she said there have been suggestions from members of the public about moving towards a Senate with elected officials.
“We have to look at that composition. Just hear what the people say that they want in their Constitution. I don’t think we gave them that opportunity.”
Scott-Mottley said even though there was consensus on impeachment, with former Prime Minister Bruce Golding and the current leader of the opposition, Mark Golding, tabling bills on the issue, the matter was not included in the constitutional bill.
Reigniting the debate on fixed election dates, Scott-Mottley said the country was currently going through election fatigue. Both political parties have been pressing flesh as they journey across the country to seek the support of the electorate to form the next government.
She said the provision in Jamaica’s Constitution which now allows for the calling of an election three months after the dissolution of Parliament should be revisited.
Section 64 of the Constitution mandates that Parliament lasts five years from its first sitting, while Section 65 requires an election within three months of its dissolution.
Scott-Mottley is of the view that this should only be allowed in the event of natural disasters.
She indicated that Section 65 was used to delay the holding of general elections only once in Jamaica, and that was after Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.
The current constitutional bill will fall off Parliament’s order paper and will have to be reintroduced when a new session of the legislature is conveyed after the general election.
A joint select committee has been reviewing the bill and was expected to submit a report to Parliament on its deliberations. However, Parliament is now in recess and may not rise again during this session as it may be overtaken by the calling of a general election.