Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has renewed his call for collaboration with Opposition Leader Mark Golding on Jamaica’s transition to a republic following a series of letters being sent by both sides.
In his letter which he has made public, Holness urged Golding to engage in talks with Justice Minister Delroy Chuck as a preliminary step and proposed a return to the Vale Royal Talks as a means to advance the constitutional reform process.
Golding has previously rebuffed the prime minister’s request for him to hold talks with Chuck, insisting that the two leaders meet.
See letter in full below:
October 10, 2025
Dear Mr. Golding:
Thank you for your reply to my letter of September 30, 2025, inviting you to meet with the Honourable Delroy Chuck, KC, MP. For context, it is necessary to restate that this invitation was consequent on Cabinet changes merging the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs into the Ministry of Justice and Minister Chuck assuming ministerial responsibility for constitutional reform matters. Having regard to the key fact that you directly assumed Shadow Spokesperson responsibilities for Constitutional Affairs, it was considered courteous, and practical as a preliminary step, for the Minister with responsibility for the portfolio you shadow, to brief you and your team accordingly on the restructured ministry and portfolio. Given your office also as Leader of the Opposition, it was only respectful that I convey to you the request to meet, which was subsequently followed by a letter directly to you from Minister Chuck on October 2, 2025, in which he reiterated the proposal “to arrange a preliminary meeting with you and maybe your team”. To be clear, this invitation to meet with Minister Chuck is not a substitute for us meeting directly as political and Parliamentary leaders of our country. Nevertheless, Minister Chuck and the team at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs look forward to meeting with you and/or your team.
In your response of October 3, 2025, I carefully noted your acceptance that “the only route to reaping success in this reform effort is through authentic collaboration”. I take this to mean both parties are genuinely willing and sincerely committed to engaging in a structured and inclusive process of finding and building common ground towards shared national goals.
Before addressing the substance of our engagement, it is important to briefly chronicle, for the public record, the sequence of critical events that brought us to this point.
My Administration embarked on this journey of constitutional reform to transition Jamaica to a Republic on the basis that there was a shared desire for “authentic collaboration” on both sides to move ahead with the aspiration, particularly as we were about to celebrate our 60th anniversary of Independence. Your statement to the Parliament, in the Budget Debate of March 16, 2021, on Jamaica becoming a republic, was taken as a definitive and authentic position on which we could proceed. You said:
“I understand that the two sides have been at one with this, but what is important is to deal with it… The time has come for Jamaica to become a republic within the Commonwealth, with a Jamaican head of state, and for us to swear allegiance to the Constitution and People of Jamaica. Let us proceed with the legal steps required to achieve this, since there is consensus that this is where we need to go.”
You also referenced, former Prime Minster, The Most Honourable P.J. Patterson, ON, who wrote to us December 2, 2021, expressing similar sentiments that there was agreement on both sides and encouraged us to act with urgency to make Jamaica a Republic. These expressions of unity of purpose presented the nation with a real opportunity and signaled a break from the historical differences which halted previous attempts. As a demonstration of our serious intent, on January 10, 2022, I announced the formation of the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs to give focus and functional form to the process of realizing our aspiration to become a republic. We then met under the umbrella of the Vale Royal Talks on February 28, 2022, where among other matters we discussed preparations for “Jamaica 60” and the constitutional reform pathway for Jamaica to become a Republic. We noted your public comments carried in the Gleaner newspaper of April 4, 2022 and featured on your website, where you were quoted as saying:
“We (The PNP) have made it clear that we are ready to proceed, and we would like to do it more quickly; we would love to do it this year, but I think the prime minister has indicated that he is working with a two-year time frame. But we want to get it done, so we will cooperate, and he will have our support. We think it’s an important step for Jamaica as an independent country to have a Jamaican as a head of state,”
Up to this point we were assured in the belief that we could proceed on the basis that Jamaica transitioning to a Republic was an unencumbered and unconditional agreement of both sides and other matters such as Jamaica’s final appellate court, on which there is no agreement, could be dealt with in the phased approached outlined by the Administration.
It was in this context that by letter dated May 31, 2022, you were invited to name members to the Constitutional Reform Committee (CRC), which was the multi-stakeholder body established to review the extensive work already done over the past 25 years, engage stakeholder input, and guide the process going forward.
In your response of June 3, 2022 you confirmed that the Parliamentary Opposition would participate in the work of the CRC, however you raised concerns regarding the necessity and timeliness of a review committee, the inclusion of the Charter Rights in the review process, and most important, for the first time formally, the consideration of Jamaica’s final Appellate Court “as an adjunct to moving away from the Monarchy”. This represented a critical juncture in the journey to becoming a Republic and a departure from the common ground on which the process was launched. In fact, the appointment of the CRC was delayed nine months while waiting for Opposition representatives to be named.
Deliberations on the concerns you raised culminated in another set of Vale Royal Talks on February 19, 2023. The meeting produced agreement on the way forward which would have sufficiently allayed your concerns about an extensive review of the Charter of Rights, addressed the necessity for a multi-stakeholder body to guide the process, and importantly, established a phased approach to comprehensive constitutional reform with the first phase being the area in which we have agreement, that is Jamaica becoming a Republic. Shortly thereafter you named the Opposition’s representatives on the CRC which enabled the work of the Committee to finally begin in earnest based on the understanding that there was an unencumbered agreement to proceed with completing Jamaica’s transition to Republic status in the first phase of the constitutional reform process. In the ensuing 14 months, the CRC undertook extensive work in good faith—reviewing decades of prior studies, engaging the public, and deliberating on key reform proposals. The entire nation can be proud of the significant work done by the members of the CRC in producing a report which addressed all relevant issues.
On April 23, 2024, during Parliament we had a pull-aside behind the Speaker’s Chair to discuss reservations your representatives had with some elements of the draft CRC report which would hinder their signing of the report. You also indicated to me a return to the position prior to the last Vale Royal Talks, where your support for Jamaica transitioning to a Republic would be conditional on the acceptance of the CCJ as Jamaica’s final appellate court. I indicated that there was no agreement on this position, and it would require further consultation and deep consideration at this late stage. Once again, another departure from the understanding that we would work in good faith to achieve Republic status, on which we share common ground, and address the matter of the final court in a subsequent phase of the process.
On May 7, 2024, you wrote to me indicating that you instructed your representatives on the CRC not to sign the report, unless and until your position of Jamaica’s transitioning to a republic and the adoption of the CCJ, are taken as an “unitary exercise”, despite there being no consensus on the CCJ being our final court.
After considerable expenditure of time and public resources and no resolution for the following 17 months, both parties turned their attention to prosecuting their positions on constitutional reform to the public as we approached the critical deciding event of a general election. During the election campaign, the commitment of my Administration to the process of constitutional reform was clearly documented in our Manifesto to the people for their consideration and decision. It states:
“We will prioritise Jamaica’s transition to a Republic and continue to broaden national consultations on wider constitutional reform [including our final court] to ensure that the voices of all Jamaicans are heard and respected. We remain committed to an inclusive and participatory process that advances the phases of reform and strengthens our democratic foundations.”
A mandate is in place for the Administration to pursue and fulfill our commitment to the people of giving priority to transitioning Jamaica to a Republic in a collaborative and inclusive manner. In this spirit, during the swearing-in ceremony, I asked for a partnership between us to transition Jamaica to a Republic. The Vale Royal Talks have proven useful in the past in providing a space for frank dialogue and principled compromise. I therefore propose that we return to this mechanism as a platform to move forward constructively. I am hopeful you will accept the proposal, and we stand ready to coordinate the logistics with your team.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Holness
PRIME MINISTER