SPEAKER OF THE Barbados House of Assembly Michael Carrington doesn’t see the need for holding a referendum to decide whether Barbados should become a republic.
He asked why there should be a referendum on the issue of switching from the country’s monarchical system of government and removing the Queen Elizabeth 11 as head, when there was no vote on the more important issue of political Independence from Britain in 1966.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart recently told a political meeting that his government intended to turn Barbados into a republic “in the very near future”, but said nothing about holding a referendum on the matter.
However, referendum advocates are saying that such decisions are best taken out of the hands of political representatives and determined directly by the people, with a ballot. (TY)
