Jamaican general election, 2016

Jamaican general election, 2016

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All 63 seats in the House of Representatives 32 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Andrew Holness Portia Simpson-Miller Party JLP PNP Leader since 23 October 2011 26 February 2006 Leader's seat St Andrew West Central St Andrew South Western Last election 21 seats, 46.6% 42 seats, 53.4% Seats before 21 42 Seats won 32 31 Seat change 11 11 Popular vote 437,178 433,629 Percentage 50.1% 49.7% Swing 3.5pp 3.7pp
Map of results by constituency. Colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.
Prime Minister before election Portia Simpson-Miller PNP Subsequent Prime Minister Andrew Holness JLP

Portia Simpson-Miller
PNP

Andrew Holness
JLP

General elections were held in Jamaica on 25 February 2016. The elections were largely a contest between the governing People's National Party (PNP) and the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). The result was a narrow victory for the JLP, which won 32 of the 63 seats. One political commentator described the poll as "the closest election Jamaica has ever had".

The JLP's share of the vote was the lowest for a winning party since 1962, when the JLP won 50.0% of the vote, and its resulting majority in the House of Representatives was the narrowest since the 1949 elections. A similarly close election occurred in 2007, in which two seats changed hands on recounts.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller announced the date of the general election on 31 January 2016. The nomination date of 9 February 2016 was also announced. The election can be considered as having been called early, as it was constitutionally due between 29 December 2016 (the date in 2011 of the previous general election) and 16 April 2017 (within five years and three months of the date in 2012 of the first sitting of the new Parliament, on 17 January). There is no fixed election date in effect in Jamaica at this time; hence, the choice of election date is the prerogative of the Prime Minister.

The 63 members of the House of Representatives are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The Representation of the People Act permits the candidacy of voters above the age of 21. Any Commonwealth citizen residing in Jamaica can vote in the election if they are older than 18 years. To be included on the ballot, a nomination must include the signatures of at least ten eligible voters from the same constituency. The nomination form must then be submitted during a four-hour period on nomination day.