Jamaican general election, 1997

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General elections were held in Jamaica on 18 December 1997. [1] The ruling People's National Party of Prime Minister P. J. Patterson won 50 of the 60 seats defeating the main opposition Jamaica Labour Party.

Jamaica Country in the Caribbean

Jamaica is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola.

Peoples National Party Jamaican political party

The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by activist Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 30 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as well as a majority of local government bodies, with 151 of the 228 divisions. The party is democratic socialist by constitution.

Prime Minister of Jamaica Jamaicas head of government

The Prime Minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Holness, as leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), was sworn in as Prime Minister on 3 March 2016, succeeding People's National Party (PNP) leader Portia Simpson-Miller. This was a result of the JLP's victory in Jamaica's 25 February 2016 general election.

Contents

Background

Prime Minister P. J. Patterson announced on the 27 November that the election would be held on the 18 December. [2] Patterson saw this as the right time to go the country as his People's National Party was ahead in the opinion polls, inflation had fallen substantially and the national football team had just qualified for the 1998 World Cup. [2] The previous election in 1993 had seen the People's National Party win 52 of the 60 seats, although in a quarter of the seats the winning margin was less than 1,000 votes. [3]

Opinion poll type of survey

An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a poll or a survey, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence intervals.

Inflation increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time

In economics, inflation is a sustained increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation reflects a reduction in the purchasing power per unit of money – a loss of real value in the medium of exchange and unit of account within the economy. The measure of inflation is the inflation rate, the annualized percentage change in a general price index, usually the consumer price index, over time. The opposite of inflation is deflation.

The Jamaica national football team is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), the governing body for football in Jamaica. A member of CFU and CONCACAF, Jamaica has won the Caribbean Cup six times, with their latest win being the 2014 Caribbean Cup when they beat Trinidad and Tobago in the final. Jamaica finished as the runner-up in the 2015 and 2017 editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which was their best performance in the competition; losing to Mexico and USA.

A record 197 candidates contested the election, [4] [5] with a new political party, the National Democratic Movement, standing in most of the seats. [6] The National Democratic Movement had been founded in 1995 by a former Labour Party chairman, Bruce Golding, [6] after a dispute over the leadership of the Jamaica Labour Party. [7]

National Democratic Movement (Jamaica)

The National Democratic Movement (NDM) is a conservative political party in Jamaica, led by Peter Townsend.

Bruce Golding Jamaican politician; Prime Minister of Jamaica

Orette Bruce Golding is a former Jamaican politician who served as eighth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 11 September 2007 to 23 October 2011. He is a member of the Jamaica Labour Party which he led from 2005 to his resignation in 2011.

Campaign

The election was seen as being mainly between the governing People's National Party and the main opposition Jamaica Labour Party, led by the former Prime Minister Edward Seaga. [8] The economy and violence were the major issues in the election, with the People's National Party maintaining a lead in the polls as the election neared. [3] [8]

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name might suggest that it is a social democratic party, the JLP is actually a conservative party. However, it has longstanding ties to the Jamaican labour movement.

Edward Seaga Prime Minister of Jamaica

Edward Philip George Seaga is a former Jamaican politician. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1980 to 1989, and the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005. He served as leader of the opposition from 1974 to 1980, and again from 1989 until January 2005.

The election was mainly free of violence [9] as compared to previous elections, [6] although it began with an incident where rival motorcades from the main parties were fired on. [3] The election was the first in Jamaica where a team of international election monitors attended. [3] The monitors were from the Carter Center and included Jimmy Carter, Colin Powell and former heavyweight boxing world champion Evander Holyfield. [10] Just before the election the two main party leaders made a joint appeal for people to avoid marring the election with violence. [6] Election day itself saw one death and 4 injuries relating to the election, but the 1980 election had seen over 800 deaths. [6]

Motorcade

A motorcade, or autocade, is a procession of vehicles.

Carter Center non-profit organisation in the USA

The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University just after his defeat in the 1980 U.S. Presidential elections. The center is located in a shared building adjacent to the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum on 37 acres (150,000 m2) of parkland, on the site of the razed neighborhood of Copenhill, two miles (3 km) from downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The library and museum are owned and operated by the United States National Archives and Records Administration, while the Center is governed by a Board of Trustees, consisting of business leaders, educators, former government officials, and philanthropists.

Jimmy Carter 39th president of the United States

James Earl Carter Jr. is an American politician and philanthropist who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A Democrat, he previously served as a Georgia State senator from 1963 to 1967 and as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975. Carter has remained active in public life during his post-presidency, and in 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in co-founding the Carter Center.

Results

In winning the election the People's National Party became the first party to win 3 consecutive terms. [9] The opposition Jamaica Labour Party only had 2 more seats in Parliament after the election but their leader Edward Seaga held his seat for a ninth time in a row. [11] The National Democratic Movement failed to win any seats despite a pre-election prediction that they would manage to win a seat. [12]

PartyVotes%Seats+/-
People's National Party 429,80556.250-2
Jamaica Labour Party 297,38738.910+2
National Democratic Movement 36,7074.80New
Independents8850.100
Invalid/blank votes6,284–––
Total771,068100600
Source: Nohlen

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References

  1. ↑ Nohlen, D (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p430 ISBN   978-0-19-928357-6
  2. 1 2 "Jamaican prime minister sets election date". BBC News Online. 1997-11-27. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rohter, Larry (1997-12-18). "In Jamaica, Violence Is the Issue". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  4. ↑ "Electoral violence in Jamaica". BBC News Online. 1997-12-03. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  5. ↑ "Jamaican ruling party victorious by landslide". The Spokesman-Review . 1997-12-18. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "One dead in Jamaica election violence". BBC News Online. 1997-12-19. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  7. ↑ "Jamaica Re-Elects Patterson". The Ledger . 20 December 1997. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  8. 1 2 "Voting begins in Jamaican general election". BBC News Online. 1997-12-18. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
  9. 1 2 "Landslide for ruling party". The Guardian . 1997-12-20. p. 14.
  10. ↑ Rohter, Larry (1997-12-19). "Top Hill Journal; At Polls in Jamaica, Kissing Cousin From America". The New York Times . Retrieved 2009-07-19.
  11. ↑ Adams, David (1997-12-20). "Jamaica returns Patterson". The Times . p. 14.
  12. ↑ "PNP may secure third term by midnight, Thursday". Jamaica Gleaner . 17 December 1997. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2009.

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