IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Jamaica

Name	Official Name	Type
Jamaican House of Representatives		Lower House
Jamaican Senate		Upper House

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
Head of Government: Prime Minister Andrew HOLNESS
Assembly: Jamaica has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 21 seats and the House of Representatives with 63 seats.

* The Queen is represented by Governor General Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN.

The Queen is the hereditary head of state.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the governor-general.
In the Senate 21 members are appointed by the governor-general. The governor-general appoints members of the Senate on recommendation by the Prime Minister and leader of the opposing party. The ruling party is given 13 seats in the Senate, while the minority party is allotted 8 seats. In the House of Representatives 63 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

Election For	Date	Votes	Registered Voters	Turn Out
Jamaican House of Representatives	2002-10-16	734,579	1,293,373	56.8%
Jamaican House of Representatives	2007-09-03	808,240	1,338,146	60.4%
Jamaican House of Representatives	2011-12-29	869,438	1,648,036	52.76%
Jamaican House of Representatives	2016-02-25	870,663	1,824,410	47.72%
Jamaican House of Representatives	2020-09-03	714,808	1,913,410	37.36%