Councillor candidates are nominated by political parties in the electoral divisions and are voted on and directly elected by the electorate. The mayor of Portmore is also directly elected. Control of the parish councils depends on the party which controls the majority of the divisions within the parish. The post of mayor of the capital town of the parish is awarded to the party which controls the parish council. The party will then appoint one of its councillors in the parish to be mayor of the town. In the case that neither party holds a majority in a parish council, an elected independent or third party candidate will make the decision of which of the tied political parties should be awarded the mayorship of the capital of the parish. In the case that no independent or third party candidates were elected, the mayorship will be dependent on which party received the higher popular vote in the parish.
Background
Local government elections are constitutionally due every three years so these elections were due to be held on 5 December 2010.[2][3] however were delayed several times before finally being called by the newly elected PNP government.
The previous elections in 2007 were held just following the JLP's victory in the general election of that year, while these elections followed the 2011 general election in which the PNP gained a supermajority in a landslide.
Electoral System
The elections were conducted under universal suffrage with every adult citizen resident in Jamaica and on the register being permitted to vote. Any commonwealthcitizen resident for at east a year in Jamaica was also permitted to vote.[4] The electoral system used was first-past-the-post. Councillor candidates are nominated by political parties in the electoral divisions and are voted on and directly elected by the electorate. The mayor of Portmore is also directly elected. Control of the parish councils depends on the party which controls the majority of the divisions within the parish. The post of mayor of the capital town of the parish is awarded to the party which controls the parish council. The party will then appoint one of its councillors in the parish to be mayor of the town. In the case that neither party holds a majority in a parish council, an elected independent or third party candidate will make the decision of which of the tied political parties should be awarded the mayorship of the capital of the parish. In the case that no independent or third party candidates were elected, the mayorship will be dependent on which party received the higher popular vote in the parish.
Results
The People's National Party secured a landslide victory by winning 151 divisions to the Jamaica Labour Party's 75, in addition to the mayorship of Portmore.[5] The results saw the PNP holding majorities in 12 of the 13 parish councils, with the 13th council, Trelawny, being tied by the two major political parties with one elected independent candidate. It was decided by the independent candidate that the mayorship of Falmouth, the capital of Trelawny, would be awarded to the PNP with the JLP receiving the deputy mayor position.
Councillor election
Parish councils
The party which controls each of the 13 parish councils and appoints a mayor for the capital of the parish is the party which wins the majority of divisions in the parish. In the case that neither party holds a majority in a parish council, an elected independent or third party candidate will make the decision of which of the tied political parties should be awarded the mayorship of the capital of the parish. In the case that no independent or third party candidates were elected, the mayorship will be dependent on which party received the higher popular vote in the parish.
Summary of the 26 March 2012 Jamaican parish council election results
The Mayor of Portmore is the chairman of the Portmore Municipal Council, the legislative body for the city. The Mayor is directly elected based on popular vote and is tasked with setting the policies and by-laws that will affect the city, as it relates to: road maintenance, parks, property taxes, etc...
Despite being within the Saint Catherine, due to its population; Portmore was granted city status and 'independence' from the Saint Catherine Parish Council.
↑ The Trelawney parish council was tied so no party has a majority in that parish council. The mayoral position was awarded to the PNP by the one elected independent candidate in the parish.
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