2011 Jamaican general election

2011 Jamaican general election

29 December 2011 (2011-12-29)
All 63 seats in the House of Representatives 32 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	53.17% ( 8.29pp)
First party Second party   Leader Portia Simpson-Miller Andrew Holness Party PNP JLP Last election 49.64%, 28 seats 50.27%, 32 seats Seats won 42 21 Seat change 14 11 Popular vote 463,232 405,234 Percentage 52.96% 46.32% Swing 3.32pp 3.95pp
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.

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.

Opinion polls

Opinion polls indicated a slim lead for the opposition PNP six days before the election. The win by the PNP shocked even its leaders, such as Peter Phillips who said that "the results certainly exceeded our most optimistic scenarios". 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. 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. Several Labour Party cabinet ministers lost their seats, including National Security Minister Dwight Nelson and Energy Minister Clive Mullings.

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.

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. 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".

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's National Party	464,064	53.28	42	+14
	Jamaica Labour Party	405,920	46.61	21	–11
	Marcus Garvey People's Progressive Party	420	0.05	0	New
	National Democratic Movement	263	0.03	0	0
	Jamaica Alliance Movement	57	0.01	0	New
	Independents	228	0.03	0	0
Total		870,952	100.00	63	+3
Valid votes		870,952	99.39
Invalid/blank votes		5,358	0.61
Total votes		876,310	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		1,648,036	53.17
Source: Electoral Commission of Jamaica