Prime Minister Holness gets landslide

Jamaicans voted to return the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) of Prime Minister Mr Andrew Holness to office with a landslide in General Elections on Thursday.

Preliminary results show the JLP won 49 of the 63 seats at stake with the other 14 going to the People’s National Party (PNP) led by Dr Peter Phillips.

In an address to the nation Thursday night, Prime Minister Holness said Dr Phillips had called him to concede defeat, a gesture he described as sportsmanlike and dignified.  The Prime Minister urged Dr. Phillips’ PNP supporters to not feel dejected, but join the JLP in ‘celebrating Jamaica’s victory’.

Political observers have noted that this is the first consecutive victory for the JLP since the 1960’s. The party had secured a narrow 32-31 victory in the last General Elections in February 2016.

The Electoral Office of Jamaica says the voter turn out was approximately 37 percent of the 1,913,410 registered electors, down from 48 percent in the last General Elections in February 2016.  Some commentators believe public concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic may be a contributing factor.

Returning Officers are expected to conduct a final count of all ballots on Friday.

Source: CARICOM TODAY