By Nakinskie Robinson
Forty-five per cent of Jamaicans recently polled believe the country should move towards a republic type government with a Jamaican president or head of state. That constitutes an 11 per cent fall-off in support for such a move in one year, according to pollster Don Anderson who carried out both surveys.
The latest RJRGLEANER Don Anderson shows the 45 per cent of respondents wanting the country to adopt a republic type government, similar to Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana or Barbados, with some even favouring the American style of government.
Another 26 per cent of citizens who believe Jamaica should retain the British Monarch as Head of State.
That figure represents only a 19 per cent difference between those who support the move towards becoming a republic and those against it.
Twenty-nine per cent of respondents said they were unsure about which option the country should adopt.
Speaking with Radio Jamaica News on Tuesday, pollster and head of Market Research Limited, Don Anderson, said despite the maintained lean towards severing ties with the British monarchy, the 2023 polls saw a dip in support for the move.
"The last poll which we did was in 2022 on this issue. Slightly differently worded question, but we had the majority of persons - 56 per cent - who said, we believe that we should separate from the monarch. So this (45 per cent) is a significant fall off in that number."
Still, he said the 19 per cent gap between those who want to sever ties with the monarchy and those who believe Jamaica should remain under British rule, shows that support for Jamaica's shift to a republic continues to remain "pretty strong".
The poll canvassed a representative sample of 1,010 people over the age of 18 who are eligible to vote.
Field work was done between August 30 and September 14 with a margin of error of plus or minus three per cent.
