Jamaica: House of Representatives, 25 February 2016

At stake in this election:

• 63 seats in the House of Representatives of Parliament.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952); Represented by Governor General Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Portia SIMPSON-MILLER (since 5 January 2012)
• Assembly: Jamaica has a bicameral Parliament with 63 seats in the House of Representatives and 21 seats in the Senate.

Description of electoral system:

• Members of the House of Representatives are directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms. Members of the Senate are appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister and minority party leader.

Last Election:

• Elections to the House of Representatives were last held on 29 December 2011. The People’s National Party (PNP) took 42 seats, while the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) took 21 seats.[1]

Main parties in the election:

• People’s National Party (PNP)
  • Leader: Portia SIMPSON-MILLER
  • Seats won in last election: 42
• Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)
  • Leader: Andrew HOLNESS
  • Seats won in last election: 21
• National Democratic Movement (NDM)
  • Leader: Michael WILLIAMS
  • Seats won in last election: N/A

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 2,950,210 (July 2015 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 1,824,410 (November 2015)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 1,489,200 (2015 est.)

·         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: 14 (16.67%)[2]

·         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: 163,206 (2001)