2011 Jamaican general election

Last updated

2011 Jamaican general election
Flag of Jamaica.svg
←  2007 29 December 2011 (2011-12-29) 2016  →
All 63 seats in the House of Representatives
32 seats needed for a majority
Turnout53.17% (Decrease2.svg 8.29pp)
 First partySecond party
  Portia Miller Shoot.Jpeg Andrew Holness Press (cropped) 2.jpg
Leader Portia Simpson-Miller Andrew Holness
Party PNP JLP
Last election49.64%, 28 seats50.27%, 32 seats
Seats before2832
Seats won4221
Seat changeIncrease2.svg14Decrease2.svg11
Popular vote463,232405,234
Percentage52.96%46.32%
SwingIncrease2.svg3.32ppDecrease2.svg3.95pp
Jamaica general election 2011 - Results by Constituency.svg
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election

Andrew Holness
JLP

Prime Minister after election

Portia Simpson-Miller
PNP

General elections were held in Jamaica on 29 December 2011. The elections were contested mainly between the nation's two major political parties, the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), led by Andrew Holness, and the Portia Simpson-Miller-led opposition People's National Party (PNP). The result was a landslide victory for the PNP which won 42 of the 63 seats, a two-thirds majority. [1]

Contents

Background

Since the previous elections in 2007, the number of seats had been increased from 60 (an even number) to 63 (an odd number). The close results of the 2007 general election spurred the change as the Electoral Commission concluded that a tie would not be resolved. [2]

Opinion polls

Opinion polls indicated a slim lead for the opposition PNP six days before the election. [3] [4] The win by the PNP shocked even its leaders, such as Peter Phillips who said that "the results certainly exceeded our most optimistic scenarios". [5] [6] Reports from the Electoral Office of Jamaica indicated that only just over 50 per cent of the entire voting population voted on Election Day, meaning that it was possible for the lower-than-usual voter turnout to have thrown off opinion polls' predictions for the result.

Results

The People's National Party (PNP) secured 42 seats out of 63 in a result described as a landslide victory. [5] No minor parties won seats in the new Parliament. As a result, the PNP ended four years of rule for the Labour Party, which won 21 seats. [5] Several Labour Party cabinet ministers lost their seats, including National Security Minister Dwight Nelson and Energy Minister Clive Mullings. [5]

As a result, Portia Simpson-Miller assumed the role of Prime Minister for the second time in 5 years and Andrew Holness became one of the shortest-serving Prime Ministers in the history of Jamaica. [7]

Polling was reported to have proceeded fairly smoothly, despite glitches with fingerprint scanners at some polling stations, and without the violence that has marred previous elections. [8] The Organization of American States sent an observation mission to oversee the elections and they reported that they had not witnessed "any disturbances or any issues that would cause us any serious concern". [8]

Jamaican Parliament 2011.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
People's National Party 464,06453.2842+14
Jamaica Labour Party 405,92046.6121–11
Marcus Garvey People's Progressive Party 4200.050New
National Democratic Movement 2630.0300
Jamaica Alliance Movement570.010New
Independents2280.0300
Total870,952100.0063+3
Valid votes870,95299.39
Invalid/blank votes5,3580.61
Total votes876,310100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,648,03653.17
Source: Electoral Commission of Jamaica

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's National Party</span> Jamaican centre-left political party

The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Washington Manley who served as party president until his death in 1969. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as 96 of the 227 local government divisions. The party is democratic socialist by constitution.

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name might suggest that it is a social democratic party, the JLP is actually a conservative party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portia Simpson-Miller</span> Former Prime Minister of Jamaica

Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller is a former Jamaican politician. She served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from March 2006 to September 2007 and again from 5 January 2012 to 3 March 2016. She was the leader of the People's National Party from 2005 to 2017 and the Leader of the Opposition twice, from 2007 to 2012 and from 2016 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Holness</span> Prime Minister of Jamaica (born 1972)

Andrew Michael Holness, is a Jamaican politician who has been the prime minister of Jamaica since 3 March 2016, following the 2016 Jamaican general election. Holness previously served as prime minister from October 2011 to 5 January 2012. He succeeded Bruce Golding as prime minister, and decided to go to the polls in the 29 December 2011 general election in an attempt to get his own mandate from the Jamaican electorate. He failed in that bid, however, losing to the People's National Party led by Portia Simpson-Miller, with the PNP gaining 42 seats to the Jamaica Labour Party's 21. Following that defeat, Holness served as Leader of the Opposition from January 2012 to March 2016, when he once again assumed the position of prime minister. In 2020, the Labour Party won a landslide in another general election, and on 7 September Holness was sworn in for another term as prime minister.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wykeham McNeill</span> Jamaican politician

Kenneth Wykeham McNeill, MD, MP, CD is a Jamaican politician, former Member of Parliament for Westmoreland West, Jamaica. He is a former government minister. He was the Minister of Tourism of Jamaica from 2012 to 2016. He was elected the first vice chair of the Executive Council of the United Nations World Tourism Organization representing Jamaica in 2012 and elected chairman of the Executive council for the 2014-2015 period. McNeill was elected a Vice President of The People's National Party at the Party's annual conference in September 2016.

Sharon Hay-Webster is a Jamaican politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Jamaica from 1997 to 2012, representing the People's National Party. She came to international attention after the 2004 Haitian coup d'état, when she escorted Jean-Bertrand Aristide from his temporary exile in the Central African Republic to Jamaica at the invitation of then-Prime Minister of Jamaica P. J. Patterson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Jamaican general election</span>

General elections were held in Jamaica on 25 February 2016. The elections were largely a contest between the governing People's National Party (PNP) and the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). The result was a narrow victory for the JLP, which won 32 of the 63 seats. One political commentator described the poll as "the closest election Jamaica has ever had".

Local government elections were held on 26 March 2012 in Jamaica. Directly elected were 228 divisional councillors and the mayor of the municipality of Portmore. Each of the 13 parish councils and parish capital mayoral positions were allocated to a political party. The election was contested mainly between Jamaica's two major political parties, the Portia Simpson-Miller-led People's National Party (PNP), the opposition, and the Andrew Holness-led Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which currently forms Jamaica's government.

Ian Dave Hayles is a Jamaican politician with the People's National Party. He was a Member of the Parliament of Jamaica since 2007 before losing his seat to Jamaica Labour Party Candidate and Attorney-at-Law, Tamika Davis, at the 2020 Jamaican general election.

Peter PhillipsMP is a Jamaican politician who is currently the MP for Saint Andrew East Central.

Angela Rosemarie Brown-Burke is a Jamaican politician with the People's National Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Jamaican general election</span> Election in Jamaica

General elections were held in Jamaica on Thursday, 3 September 2020 to elect 63 members of Parliament. As 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republicanism in Jamaica</span> Movement to turn Jamaica into a republic

Republicanism in Jamaica is a position which advocates that Jamaica's system of government be changed from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. Both major political parties – the Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party – subscribe to the position, and the current Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, has announced that transitioning to a republic will be a priority of his government. In June 2022, the Jamaican government announced its intention that Jamaica become a republic by the time of the next general election in 2025. The process will include a two-thirds majority vote in parliament along with a referendum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in the House of Representatives of Jamaica</span>

Jamaica is the first English-speaking country in the Caribbean to achieve universal adult suffrage and grant women the right to be elected to Parliament. Between 1944 and 2020, a total of 47 women have been elected as members of the House of Representatives. As of September 2020 there are 18 women in the House of Representatives, the highest ever. This is a new all-time high at 29% and is the first time that female representation in the House of Representatives stands at more than a quarter of the total membership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trelawny Northern</span> Jamaican parliamentary constituency

Trelawny Northern is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Jamaican Parliament. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was one of the 32 constituencies fixed in the new constitution granted to Jamaica in 1944. The constituency has featured in all 16 contested Parliamentary General Elections from 1944 to 2016. The current MP is Tova Hamilton, representing the Jamaica Labour Party, who has been in office since the 2020 general election.

Maxine Antoinette Henry-Wilson, CD is a Jamaican educator and politician, representing the People's National Party (PNP). She served as minister of education from 2002 to 2007.

Ivan Stewart Lloyd was a Jamaican medical practitioner and politician, representing the People's National Party (PNP). He served as Jamaica's first Leader of the Opposition from 1944 to 1949, minister of education and social welfare from 1955 to 1957, minister of home affairs from 1957 to 1959, and was minister of health between 1959 and 1962.

Derrick Flavius Leroy Kellier is a Jamaican businessman and politician, representing the People's National Party (PNP). He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Saint James Southern from 1989 to 2020. He served as Minister of Labour and Social Security from 2006 to 2007, and again from 2012 to 2015. Kellier also served concurrently as Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries from 2014 to 2016.

Horace Washington Dalley is a Jamaican educator and politician, representing the People's National Party (PNP). He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Clarendon Northern, serving from 1989 to 2007, and again from 2011 to 2020. He served as Minister of Land and Environment from 2001 to 2002, Minister of Labour and Social Security from 2002 to 2006, Minister of Health from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2015 to 2016.

Ronald George Thwaites is a Jamaican attorney-at-law and politician, representing the People's National Party (PNP). He was Member of Parliament (MP) for the constituency of Kingston Central, serving from 1989 to 2002, and again from 2007 to 2020. He served as Minister of Education from 2012 to 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "BLOWOUT: PNP 41 - JLP 22". jamaica-gleaner.com.
  2. ↑ An odd number of votes ensures that a decision is made, no tie is possible.
  3. ↑ "PNP comeback". Jamaica Gleaner. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "News | Investigative | Current Affair | CVM Television". News.cvmtv.com. 21 December 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Dominating victory in Jamaica elections even surprises winning opposition side". Washington Post. 30 December 2011. Archived from the original on 1 January 2012. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  6. ↑ "Jamaica Election Results". Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Helps, Horace. "Bad economy puts Jamaica opposition back in power". Reuters. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
  8. 1 2 "Jamaica People's National Party secures big poll win". BBC News. 30 December 2011. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.