Republicanism in Jamaica required for independence, the popularity of the Royal Family amongst Jamaicans, and tendencies towards Anglophilia among the political elites. The first Jamaican prime minister to make steps towards a republic was Michael Manley, whose People's National Party (PNP) came to power at the 1972 general election. His government established a commission into constitutional reform in 1975, and in July 1977, following a march to commemorate the Morant Bay rebellion, Manley announced that Jamaica would become a republic by 1981. However, his government was defeated at the 1980 general election by the more conservative Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), led by Edward
National Democratic Movement (Jamaica) National Democratic Movement (Jamaica) The National Democratic Movement (NDM) is a conservative political party in Jamaica, led by Peter Townsend. In the 29 December 2011 elections, the party received 265 votes, but won no seats. The NDM was formed in 1995 by Brascoe Lee and Bobby Marsh. Bruce Golding was invited to become the first President. Golding was the chairman of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) before he and others decided to split. In their 1997 manifesto, the party expresses the reasons why they broke from the JLP. Namely, they believed that after gaining independence from the United Kingdom in