Gonsalves Proposes Ditching Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State

His proposals are similar to others existing in the Caribbean Community, where some nations seek to complete the transition from a monarchical system to a republican one.

Saint Vincent & the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves proposed to Parliament the holding of a referendum to replace Queen Elizabeth II as head of state with a non-executive president.

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“As of today, we are 12 years away from the last referendum. I am prepared, if the opposition agrees today, to put one question in a referendum: to have a homegrown president, a non-executive president, as outlined in the proposed constitution, and let's go with that one issue to the people to complete the national democratic task”.

For this proposal to be carried out, it is previously required that the two parties present in Parliament support it. A similar political process was also attempted in 2009, when the population was consulted about it. Back then, however, over 55 percent of voters rejected the possibility of replacing the Queen as head of state.

Gonsalves also proposed creating a committee to carry out a "decolonization in names," which would replace the names inherited from the past with others honoring the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines' local culture and history.

“We change the name of Victoria Park. We change the name of Higginson Street and other places. Murrays Road, cause is a colonial administrator. And we do that, especially at this time of fresh hope,” he said, as reported by Caribbean Loop News.

Gonsalves' proposals are similar to others existing in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), where some countries seek to complete the transition from a monarchical system to a republican one.

This happened in Barbados, which was a British colony from 1625 to 1966. Subsequently, this island adopted a political system in which its parliamentary democracy kept Elizabeth II as head of state. In 2021, however, Barbados became a republic breaking with that tradition.

A process of political change is also taking place in Antigua and Barbuda, where Prime Minister Gaston Browne proposed in April to turn his nation into a republic and break away from the British Crown.