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35-480: It is the current governing party, having won 49 of the 63 parliamentary seats in the lower house of parliament (House of Representatives) in the 2020 general elections . The JLP uses a bell, the victory sign , and the colour green as electoral symbols. The JLP is a member of the Caribbean Democrat Union . The party was founded on 8 July 1943 by Alexander Bustamante as the political wing of

70-598: A majority government . The largest opposition party was the People's National Party , led by Peter Phillips . Either the Jamaica Labour Party or the People's National Party have been in power since universal suffrage was introduced in 1944 . The 63 members of the House of Representatives are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting . Voters must be 18 years and over and be

105-646: A citizen of Jamaica or a Commonwealth citizen . The leader of the party commanding a majority of support in the House of Representatives is called on by the Governor General to form a government as Prime Minister, while the leader of the largest group or coalition not in government becomes the Leader of the Opposition . Only two parties registered to contest the election, the Jamaica Labour Party and

140-481: A result of Manley's economic policies and close relations with Cuba. The personalities of the two party leaders helped shape the 1989 campaign. While Seaga was portrayed as a good manager with a cold public demeanor, Manley was perceived as a person with suspect managerial skills but exceptional personal magnetism. Seaga summarized the two personalities by saying, "Some people prefer to have a husband who will provide for them and give them security. Others are looking for

175-555: A role in the 1989 election. Prime Minister Edward Seaga emphasized his relations with the United States, a relationship which saw Jamaica receiving considerable economic aid from the U.S and additional loans from international institutions. Manley pledged better relations with the United States while at the same time pledging to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba that had been cut under Seaga. With Manley as Prime Minister, Jamaican-American relations had significantly frayed as

210-530: The BBC , Bruce Golding PM and Party Leader declared that any cabinet formed by him would exclude any MP known to be gay. In previous statements, Golding stated that he and his party strongly opposed public displays of homosexuality in Jamaica and that he felt that they should continue to be illegal in keeping with Jamaican societal norms. He underlined the illegality of homosexual acts by citing Christian values and

245-608: The Bustamante Industrial Trade Union . Bustamante had previously been a member of the PNP. It won the 1944 general elections with 22 of the 32 seats. It went on to win the 1949 elections with a reduced majority. The PNP received more votes (203,048) than the JLP (199,538), but the JLP secured more seats, 17 to the PNP's 13. Two seats were won by independents. The voter turnout was 65.2%. The JLP lost power to

280-434: The People's National Party and Michael Manley in 1972 . The PNP won 37 seats to the JLP's 16. Shearer served as opposition leader until 1974. Bustamante finally gave up the post of party leader in 1974, and Edward Seaga was elected his successor. The party lost the 1976 elections , the PNP winning 47 seats to the JLP's 13. The turnout was a very high 85 percent. Seaga became prime minister after victory in 1980 when

315-541: The People's National Party , and each nominated candidates in all 63 constituencies. The two parties agreed to participate in three televised debates hosted by the Jamaica Debates Commission . The People's National Party campaigned for a referendum on removing Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. On 15 August 2020, the pastors of the Christian right Jamaica Progressive Party announced that

350-418: The constitution stipulates a five-year parliamentary term, the next elections were not expected until between 25 February and 10 June 2021. However, Prime Minister Andrew Holness called early elections to ensure a united response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic . On the advice of Holness, Governor General Patrick Allen dissolved Parliament on 13 August 2020. The result was a landslide victory for

385-521: The 60 seats. Voter turnout was 78%. They were the first seriously contested elections since 1980, as the PNP had boycotted the 1983 snap elections to protest the refusal of the ruling Jamaican Labour Party to update the electoral roll amid allegations of voter fraud. Prime Minister Edward Seaga announced the election date on 15 January at a rally in Kingston , with the emergency conditions caused by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 forcing an extension of

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420-480: The JLP after a recount. PM Holness was sworn in for a new term by Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen on 7 September 2020. The ceremony, which was held at King's House , was restricted to 32 people to comply with public health measures . 1989 Jamaican general election General elections were held in Jamaica on 9 February 1989. The result was a victory for the People's National Party , which won 45 of

455-474: The JLP had won 44 seats; for the first time since 1967 , the JLP was re-elected while contesting all seats. PNP leader Phillips did not give a concession speech, but called Holness privately to offer congratulations. Phillips resigned as PNP leader on 4 September 2020. The full preliminary count indicated a total of 49 seats for the JLP. A tie in Westmoreland Eastern was declared to be won by

490-517: The JLP won 26 seats and the PNP 19. The voter turnout was 72.9%. This resulted in the independence of Jamaica on 6 August 1962, and several other British colonies in the West Indies followed suit in the next decade. Bustamante had replaced Manley as premier between April and August, and on independence, he became Jamaica's first prime minister. Bustamante suffered a stroke in 1964 and largely withdrew from politics. However, he did not relinquish

525-422: The JLP's 15. The JLP went on to lose elections in 1993 , 1997 and 2002 , all under the continued leadership of Seaga. In 1993, the PNP, led by P.J. Patterson , won 52 seats to the JLP's eight seats, while in 1997 the PNP won 50 of the 60 seats available. In the 2002 Jamaican general election , the PNP retained power with a reduced seat majority of 34 seats to 26. Patterson stepped down on 26 February 2006, and

560-533: The JLP's 16. Manley was appointed Jamaica 's first premier on 14 August 1959. In the 1961 Federation membership referendum Jamaica voted 54% to leave the West Indies Federation. After losing the referendum, Manley took Jamaica to the polls in April 1962, to secure a mandate for the island's independence. On 10 April 1962, of the 45 seats up for contention in the 1962 Jamaican general election ,

595-435: The PNP in the 1955 elections . The PNP won for the first time, securing 18 out of 32 seats. The JLP ended up with 14 seats, and there were no independents. The voter turnout was 65.1%. As a result, Norman Manley became the new chief minister. The JLP remained in opposition following the 1959 Jamaican general election , when the number of seats was increased to 45. The PNP secured a wider margin of victory, taking 29 seats to

630-411: The coronavirus pandemic. This is what Jamaicans classified as a "landslide victory". The JLP is a conservative party. It believes in a market-driven economy and individual personal responsibility. In its coverage of the 1967 general election , The Guardian identified the JLP as a left-of-centre party, only slightly to the right of the PNP. In May 2008, in an interview with Stephen Sackur of

665-472: The distribution of relief supplies, a hallmark of the Jamaican patronage system. Political commentators noted that prior to the hurricane, Edward Seaga and the JLP trailed Michael Manley and the PNP by twenty points in opinion polls. The ability to provide relief as the party in charge allowed Seaga to improve his standing among voters and erode the inevitability of Manley's victory. However, scandals related to

700-471: The first time, registering just 48.37%. In the 2020 general election , Andrew Holness made history for the JLP by accomplishing a second consecutive win for the Jamaica Labour Party, winning 49 seats to 14 won by the PNP, led this time by Peter Phillips . The last time a consecutive win occurred for the JLP was in 1980. However, the turnout at this election was just 37%, probably affected by

735-508: The general election regularly sampling the electorates' opinions. These polls are used internally by the PNP. The ECJ reported that 97% of the polling stations had opened by 7:00 AM, and the remaining stations were open by 8:00 AM. The polls closed at 5:00 PM. Election observers included the EU delegation to Jamaica and a domestic NGO, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE). Before 10:00 PM, preliminary results indicated that

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770-968: The integrity of the family. Since the 1990s, the JLP has stated its intention for Jamaica to be a republic, thus dropping the British monarchy as its head of state . Following Barbados' transition to a republic in 2021, Prime Minister and JLP leader Andrew Holness suggested that a referendum on republicanism could be held in Jamaica in 2025. "Jamaica is, as you would see, a country that is very proud of our history and very proud of what we have achieved," Holness said in June 2022. "And we intend to attain, in short order, our development goals and fulfill our true ambitions and destiny as an independent, developed, prosperous country." 2020 Jamaican general election Andrew Holness JLP Andrew Holness JLP General elections were held in Jamaica on Thursday, 3 September 2020 to elect 63 members of Parliament . As

805-457: The parliamentary term beyond its normal five-year mandate. The election date and tone of the election were shaped in part by Hurricane Gilbert , which made landfall in September 1988 and decimated the island. The hurricane caused almost $ 1 billion worth of damage to the island, with banana and coffee crops wiped out and thousands of homes destroyed. Both parties engaged in campaigning through

840-458: The party as opposition leader. The party held a leadership election on 10 November 2013 where Holness was challenged by his deputy, Shadow Minister for Finance Audley Shaw . Holness defeated Shaw by a margin of 2,704 votes to Shaw's 2,012. Holness went on to lead the JLP to a narrow, one-seat parliamentary majority (32–31) in the 2016 general election , reducing the PNP to the opposition benches after one term. The voter turnout dipped below 50% for

875-487: The party won by a landslide, capturing 51 of the then 60 parliamentary seats. In 1983 with the JLP achieving a spike in popularity, in part because of Seaga's support of the US-led military invasion of Grenada , Seaga called early elections and won all sixty seats, the majority by acclamation, mainly because the opposition PNP boycotted those elections. The JLP suffered defeat in the 1989 elections . The PNP won 45 seats to

910-623: The party would not contest the elections due to lack of time to prepare. #GreenLight Building Your Jamaica: #VotePNP2020 Seven members of parliament did not stand for re-election: Candidate nominations were finalised on nomination day, 18 August 2020. The full candidate list is presented below, along with the incumbent candidates before the election. MPs who are not standing for re-election are marked (†). Government ministers are in bold, and party leaders are in italics. independent MP in 2021 ) Torraino Beckford (Ind.) Don Foote (Ind.) The following lists identify and rank seats using

945-512: The reduction of unemployment in Jamaica, using the campaign slogan "Don't Let Them Wreck It Again" to refer to Manley's tenure as Prime Minister. Seaga during his tenure as Prime Minister emphasized the need to tighten public sector spending and cut close to 27,000 public sector jobs in 1983 and 1984. He shifted his plans as elections neared with a promise to spend J$ 1 billion on a five-year Social Well-Being Programme, which would build new hospitals and schools in Jamaica. Foreign policy also played

980-428: The relief effort cost Seaga and the JLP some of the gains made immediately following the hurricane. Scandals that emerged included National Security Minister Errol Anderson personally controlling a warehouse full of disaster relief supplies and candidate Joan Gordon-Webley distributing American-donated flour in sacks with her picture on them. The election was characterized by a narrower ideological difference between

1015-461: The ruling Jamaica Labour Party , which received 57% of the vote and won 49 seats; the People's National Party remained the opposition party, losing 16 seats. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2019–2020 dengue fever epidemic , voter turnout was only 38%, the lowest in an election since 1983 . Prior to the election, the Jamaica Labour Party , led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness , formed

1050-406: The title of party leader for another decade. Donald Sangster took over as acting prime minister after Bustamante's stroke. He was named First Deputy Leader in 1967, and led the party to victory in the 21 February 1967 Jamaican general election . The JLP won 33 out of 53 seats, with the PNP taking 20 seats. Sangster suffered a brain hemorrhage and died about six weeks after the elections, while he

1085-492: The two parties on economic issues. Michael Manley facilitated his comeback campaign by moderating his leftist positions and admitting mistakes made as Prime Minister, saying he erred when he involved government in economic production and had abandoned all thoughts of nationalizing industry. He cited the PNP's desire to continue the market-oriented policies of the JLP government, but with a more participatory approach. Prime Minister Edward Seaga ran on his record of economic growth and

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1120-584: The vote margin by which the party's candidate finished behind the winning candidate in the 2015 election. This vote margin is given as a percentage of all eligible voters in the district. For information purposes only, seats that have changed hands through subsequent by elections have been noted. Seats whose members have changed party allegiance are ignored. Don Anderson, CEO of Market Research Services Limited, Larren Peart, founder and CEO of Bluedot Data Intelligence Limited and Bill Johnson of Johnson's Survey Research Limited Inc have commissioned opinion polling for

1155-408: Was preparing for his budget presentation. Hugh Shearer succeeded Sangster as first deputy leader and prime minister, defeating David Clement (DC) Tavares by two votes in a run-off by of the JLP parliamentarians. Tavares had come out on top in the first ballot, with Shearer and Robert Lightbourne being the other candidates. Under Shearer, the JLP lost power in independent Jamaica for the first time to

1190-482: Was replaced by Portia Simpson-Miller , Jamaica's first female prime minister. In 2005 Bruce Golding succeeded Seaga as leader of the party, and led it to victory in the 2007 elections by a narrow margin of 32 seats to 28, with a turnout of 61.46%. This election ended 18 years of PNP rule, and Bruce Golding became the new prime minister. Golding resigned as head of the party and prime minister in October 2011 and

1225-414: Was succeeded by Andrew Holness . Soon after becoming leader, Holness called an election over a year before it was constitutionally due, and the party lost by a 2:1 margin to the PNP. Portia Simpson-Miller and the PNP returned to power. The number of seats had been increased to 63, and the PNP swept to power with a landslide 42 seats to the JLP's 21. The voter turnout was 53.17%. Holness continued to lead

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