GOVERNMENT
The 1962
constitution established a parliamentary system based on the U.K.
model. As chief of state, Queen Elizabeth II appoints a governor
general, on the advice of the prime minister, as her representative
in Jamaica. The governor general's role is largely ceremonial.
Executive power is vested in the cabinet, led by the prime minister.
Parliament
is composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives.
Thirteen Senators are nominated on the advice of the prime minister
and eight on the advice of the leader of the opposition. General
elections must be held within 5 years of the forming of a new
government. The prime minister may ask the governor general to
call elections sooner, however. The Senate may submit bills, and
it also reviews legislation submitted by the House.
It may not
delay budget bills for more than 1 month or other bills for more
than 7 months. The prime minister and the cabinet are selected
from the Parliament. No fewer than two nor more than four members
of the cabinet must be selected from the Senate.
The
judiciary also is modeled on the U.K. system. The Court of Appeals
is the highest appellate court in Jamaica. Under certain circumstances,
cases may be appealed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.
Jamaica's parishes have elected councils that exercise limited
powers of local government.
POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
Jamaica's political system is stable. However, the country's serious economic problems have exacerbated social problems and have become the subject of political debate. High unemployment--averaging 12.5%--rampant underemployment, growing debt, and high interest rates are the most serious economic problems. Violent crime is a serious problem, particularly in Kingston.
The two major political parties have historical links with the two largest trade unions--the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) with the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), and the People's National Party (PNP) with the National Workers Union (NWU). The center-right National Democratic Movement (NDM) was established in 1995, and the populist United Peoples Party (UPP) in 2001; neither has links with any particular trade union, and both are marginal movements.
For health reasons, Michael Manley stepped down as Prime Minister in March 1992 and was replaced by P.J. Patterson. Patterson subsequently led the PNP to victory in general elections in 1993, 1997, and in October of 2002. The 2002 victory marked the first time any Jamaican political party has won four consecutive general elections since the introduction of universal suffrage in 1944.
Upon Patterson's retirement on March 30, 2006, Portia Simpson Miller became the first female prime minister in Jamaica's history. She left office after her party (PNP) lost to the JLP in general elections held in September 2007. The current composition of the lower house of Jamaica's Parliament is 32 JLP and 28 PNP.
Since the 1993 elections, the Jamaican Government, political parties, and Electoral Advisory Committee have worked to enact electoral reform. In the 2002 general elections, grassroots Jamaican efforts from groups like CAFFE (Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections), supplemented by international observers and organizations such as The Carter Center, helped reduce the violence that has tended to mar Jamaican elections. Former President Carter also observed the 2002 elections and declared them free and fair.
Principal
Government Officials
Governor General--Kenneth O. Hall
Prime Minister and Minister of Defense--Bruce Golding
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade--Kenneth Baugh
Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS)--Anthony Johnson
Ambassador to the United Nations--Raymond Wolfe
Jamaica
maintains an embassy in
the United States at 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20036 (tel. 202-452-0660). It also has consulates in New York
at 767 3rd Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (tel. 212-935-9000); and
in Miami in the Ingraham Building, Suite 842, 25 SE 2nd Avenue,
Miami, FL 33131 (tel. 305-374-8431/2).
Government
Type:
Constitutional parliamentary democracy.
Independence: August 6, 1962.
Constitution: August 6, 1962.
Branches: Executive--Governor General (chief of state,
representing British monarch), prime minister, cabinet. Legislative--bicameral
Parliament (21 appointed senators, 60 elected representatives).
Judicial--Court of Appeal and courts of original jurisdiction.
Subdivisions: 14 parishes, 60 electoral constituencies.
Political parties: People's National Party (PNP), Jamaica
Labour Party (JLP), National Democratic Movement (NDM), United
Peoples Party (UPP).
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
