10 Things You Should Know About The Jamaica 2016 Elections

Director of Elections, Orrette Fisher (left), responds to questions posed during Monday’, February 29th media briefing, at the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), in Kingston. Listening keenly is ECJ Chairperson, Dorothy Pine-McLarty. (JIS Image)

By NAN Contributor

News Americas, KINGSTON, Jamaica, Tues. Mar. 1, 2016: The Organization of American States may have signed off on the February 25th General Elections in Jamaica and Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) leader Andrew Holness is ready to take the reins of the country, but the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) says the final results is still not official. Here are ten facts about Jamaica’s recent elections you should know:

1: Director of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), Orrette Fisher says of the 63 seats contested, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) holds the majority with 32 and the Peoples National Party (PNP) the remaining 31 following a recount.

2: The conclusion of the recount for the constituency of St. Thomas Western on Monday, February 29th marked the final counting of ballots in all 63 constituencies for the 2016 General Election.

3: The preliminary count of last Thursday’s polls had claimed initially that the JLP won 33 seats to 30 for the PNP. Turnout for the election was over 870,000 or only just over 47 percent of total registered voters, and featured incidents of violence as well as allegations of vote-buying.

4: However, JLP candidate Dr Norman Dunn, who had initially been declared the winner of the St Mary South East seat with 7,311 votes to Dr Winston Green’s 7,184, was on Saturday declared the loser by nine votes on the final count, handing the seat to the PNP.

5: PNP leader and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, 70, has pleaded for supporters of both major political parties to maintain calm. Some political pundits have claimed her decision not to debate the JLP leader and the PNP’s use of an archaic campaign strategy as reasons for the loss.

6: The JLP, responding to widespread rumors that the recount could have changed the election results, has insisted the JLP had won the popular vote and has been given the mandate to take over the reins of government.

7: The razor thin margin now, however, between the two parties has led Dr. Horace Chang, general secretary of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), to acknowledge that an early election could be in the making.

8: Prime Minister-designate and JLP leader Andrew Holness, 43, has announced that his administration will discontinue the policy of allowing former Cabinet ministers to purchase vehicles which were being used by them while in office.

9: The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS/EOM) which observed the Feb. 25th elections has urged re-doubling voter education and public awareness campaigns across Jamaica to change the trend of declining voter turnout.

10: A sizeable chunk of  the voters were said to be young and under 50 and connected with the JLP message of social media.