Our voters have agreed that we should remove the Queen as Head of state of The Bahamas.

Though, interestingly enough, almost 40% of voters didn't know enough.

Here's a thread on what it means to be a 'republic'. https://twitter.com/SpectrumPol/status/1308471751156867073
The Bahamas is a constitutional monarchy.

This is a type of government which sees a King or Queen as the head of state of the country.

Though, in constitutional monarchies, constitutions usually allocate true governmental powers to a separate body or number of bodies.
In The Bahamas' case, Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State, but true governmental powers lay within the different branches of government which are:

i) The Executive
ii) The Judiciary
iii) The Legislative

The leader of the governing party, then becomes leader of The Bahamas.
Thus, we see how the Prime Minister, head of gov't, is separate from the role of head of state.

For The Bahamas, the head of state's role includes, but isn't limited to appointing Prime Ministers, ministers (after consultation with the gov't leader) & chief justices.
With the Queen as the head of state of The Bahamas, the appointment of key government figures is then, technically, the job of the Queen who is represented by a Governor General.

This practice then seems a little incongruous with being independent from the United Kingdom.
What does it mean to be a republic?

A republic is a country where the supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives. There is an elected or nominated president and no monarch.

For The Bahamas, this would mean removing the Queen as head of state.
What would change?

The changes, honestly, are more legislative. This would not result in The Bahamas being expelled from the Commonwealth of Nations.

The Commonwealth is comprised of 54 countries, but only 15 of those countries have Queen Elizabeth as their head of state.
Though, becoming a republic would be a step further in the direction of true and complete sovereignty with no colonial ties - apart from those which exist as a result of shared/imposed history as colonialism can exist in a myriad of ways.

We hope this thread was insightful!
You can follow @SpectrumPol.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: