At stake in this election:

• 60 seats in the House of Representatives

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON
• Assembly: Jamaica has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 21 seats and the House of Representatives with 60 seats.

* The Queen is represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE.

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen is the hereditary head of state.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch.
• In the Senate 21 members are appointed by the governor-general*. In the House of Representatives 60 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

* 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.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: People's National Party (PNP)
  • Leader: P.J. PATTERSON
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 35
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 50
• Party: Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)
  • Leader: Edward SEAGA
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 25
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 10
• Party: Others
  • Leader: N/A
  • Seats won in this House of Representatives election: 0
  • Seats won in last House of Representatives election: N/A

Last Parliamentary election:

• Last election was held on December 17, 1997.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 2,615,253 (2002)
• Registered Voters: 1,293,373 (2002)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,316,642 (2002)

·         Is Jamaica a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Jamaica ratified CEDAW: Yes (19 October 1984)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 7 (following the 2002 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 99 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Jamaica a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Jamaica ratified CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Population with a disability: 392,287 (est.)