Barbados elects first president, replacing British monarchy
Barbados has elected its first-ever president replacing UK’s Queen Elizabeth as the head of state, in a decisive step.
Barbados has elected its first president to replace Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as head of state, in a determining step toward breaking the Caribbean island’s colonial past.
Sandra Mason was elected by a two-thirds vote of a joint session of the country’s House of Assembly and Senate late this Wednesday. The Government has referred to her appointment as a milestone on its “road to republic.”
Barbados was a part of the British colony and had achieved independence in 1966. The nation includes a population of 300,000 and it had long sustained ties with the United Kingdom’s monarchy.
But many people living in Barbados have long wished to remove the Queen’s status, and establish their own government headed by a separate head of state. This marks a change in imperialism which has now shifted towards governance.
Barbados will finally become a republic on November 30, which marks the country’s 55th anniversary of independence from Britain, when Mason will swear as the new head.
Mason, a former jurist who used to be the governor-general of the island since 2018, is also the first woman to have offered her services on the Barbados Court of Appeals.
Mia Mottley, Barbados Prime Minister called the success of Sandra Mason as a “a seminal moment” in the country’s journey.
Stay tuned to Baaghi TV for latest news and updates!
