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The eastern Caribbean nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines have voted to keep the Queen of England as their head of state.
Preliminary results released by the elections commission show nearly 56 per cent of voters rejected a referendum that would have replaced the British monarch with a president chosen by Parliament.
Both of the country's parties want to replace the queen with a president as head of state, but opposition leaders urged voters to reject the proposed constitution, arguing it didn't sufficiently reduce the powers of the prime minister who'd remain as head of government.
They also said citizens rather than Parliament should elect the president.
The vote came as the Queen made a rare visit to the region to attend a Commonwealth summit in Trinidad.
