On 4 December 2011, Prime Minister Andrew Holness called parliamentary elections for 29 December, nine months earlier than they were constitutionally due. At stake were 63 seats in the House of Representatives, up from 60.
In the previous elections held in September 2007, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), led by Mr. Bruce Golding, took 33 of the 60 seats, six more than Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller's People's National Party (PNP). Later the same month, Mr. Golding was sworn in as the new Prime Minister, thereby ending the PNP's 18-year rule.
In May 2010, the PNP accused the JLP Government of lobbying against the extradition of a notorious drug dealer/gang leader, Christopher "Duddus" Coke, who had been accused of gun and drug trafficking offences by the US law enforcement authorities. The Prime Minister admitted his involvement in the lobbying efforts and subsequently ordered an operation to arrest the gang leader, in which nearly 80 persons were killed. The Prime Minister survived a no-confidence vote tabled by the PNP and the JLP renewed its support for the Prime Minister.
In July 2011, Speaker Delroy Chuck was appointed Justice Minister. Deputy Speaker Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert succeeded him, becoming the second woman in the country to assume the post.
The global economic crisis that started in 2008 continued to affect the country's economy. By 2011, Jamaica's debt had reached nearly US$ 19 billion, or 120 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and the unemployment rate had risen to 12.9 per cent. In a bid to restructure the economy, the JLP Government sold several loss-making State companies.
In September 2011, Prime Minister Golding announced that he would resign as Prime Minister as soon as a new JLP leader was elected, stating that it was the time to make way for new leadership to pursue the economic recovery and transformation programmes he had initiated. The following month, the 39 year-old Education Minister, Mr. Andrew Holness (JLP), was elected JLP leader and became the youngest Prime Minister in Jamaica's history.
Later the same month, the Constituency (Boundaries) Order 2011 was gazetted. It created three more single-member constituencies, bringing the total number of members in the House of Representatives to 63. On 8 December, the House of Representatives was dissolved for early elections.
In all, 150 candidates representing five political parties and six independents were vying for seats in 2011. The elections once again saw a duel between the JLP and the PNP, led by former Prime Minister Simpson-Miller.
Prime Minister Holness' JLP ran on the government's record, citing single-digit inflation and stable exchange rates. It pledged to lead Jamaica to developed-country status by 2030. Prime Minister Holness urged voters to give the JLP a new mandate so as to make Jamaica the best place to live, work, do business and raise families in.
Ms. Simpson-Miller - who had been the country's first woman Prime Minister in 2006 - accused the JLP of mishandling the economy. She pledged to renegotiate Jamaica's agreements with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) so as to extend its loan repayment period in order to allow the economy to grow. The party also promised an emergency employment programme and to open up the electricity market to competition with a view to lowering prices.
52.76 per cent of the 1.6 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The final results gave 42 seats to the PNP, double the share won by the JLP. The latter became the first government in Jamaica to be voted out after a single term in office.
On 5 January 2012, Ms. Simpson-Miller was sworn in as Prime Minister for the second time. Upon assuming the post, she announced that her administration would make Jamaica a republic with a President. She stated that it was high time to abandon the British model of government, Jamaica having gained independence from Britain 50 years earlier.
On 17 January, the newly-elected members of the House of Representatives were sworn in alongside the newly-appointed senators. The House elected Mr. Michael Peart as its new Speaker while the Senate elected Mr. Stanley Redwood as its President. |
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