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Legislative power is vested both in the government and in the Parliament of Jamaica. The Prime Minister is appointed by the governor-general, the common convention being the leader of the largest party in Parliament. [4] A bipartisan joint committee of the Jamaican legislature drafted Jamaica's current Constitution in 1962.
In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. [1] Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional representation compared to those using winner-take-all elections, a result known as Duverger's law .
Though the years are fixed due to the five-year term of the prime minister, the date of the election is traditionally announced by the ruling party one month in advance. Recently, there has been debate over whether this "flexible date" system is the best for Jamaica, or whether the government should switch to a fixed date system.
The United Independents' Congress of Jamaica (UIC) became the first new (post colonial) registered political party on December 7, 2019. Other parties have cropped up and disintegrated in the past due mostly to a lack of funding and effective differentiation from the major parties.
Prior to the election, the Jamaica Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Andrew Holness, formed a majority government. The largest opposition party was the People's National Party, led by Peter Phillips. Either the Jamaica Labour Party or the People's National Party have been in power since universal suffrage was introduced in 1944. [8]
Voters must be 18 years and over and be a citizen of Jamaica or a Commonwealth citizen. [ 5 ] The leader of the party commanding a majority of support in the House of Representatives is called on by the Governor General to form a government as Prime Minister, [ 6 ] while the leader of the largest group or coalition not in government becomes the ...
Jamaica Labour Party (49) Official Opposition ... House of Representatives voting system. First-past-the-post: Last House of Representatives election. 3 September 2020:
As Jamaica is a parliamentary democracy modelled after the Westminster system, most of the government's ability to make and pass laws is dependent on the Prime Minister's ability to command the confidence of the members of the House of Representatives. Though both Houses of Parliament hold political significance, the House of Representatives ...