Page 183 - A READY RECKONER

jamaiCa**

H.E. Dorothy Pine-McLarty OJ,
Chairperson, ECJ

PArt i PArt ii

CoUNtrY ProfiLE LEgisLAtivE sYstEM

1. Country Name LEGISLATURE
Jamaica
1. Structure of National Legislature
2. Official Name Bicameral
Jamaica
2. Names of the Houses in vernacular and English
3. Government House of Representatives
Parliamentary Democracy (Parliament) under a
constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm 3. Total no. of members in each house elected/
nominated
4. Head of the Government 21 members of the Senate are appointed by the
Prime Minister – Andrew Holness governor general, on recommendation by the
5. Head of the State prime minister and leader of the opposition. In the
Queen – Elizabeth II Senate, the ruling party gets 13 seats while the
Governor-General – Sir Patrick Allen minority party gets 8 seats. 63 members of the
House of Representatives are elected by plurality
6. Capital vote.
Kingston
4. Popular House
7. Currency House of Representatives
Jamaican dollar
5. Type of Electoral System
8. Ethnic Groups (with %age population) FPTP
Black 92.1%, mixed 6.1%, East Indian 0.8%, other
0.4%, unspecified 0.7% (2011 est.) PArt iii
9. Date of Independence and from which Country ELECtorAL sYstEM
6 August 1962 (from the UK)

10. Date of adoption of Democratic Constitution (A) ELECTION MANAGEMENT BODy
6 August 1962
1. Name of the EMB(S)
11. Language (s) Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ)
English, English patois

12. Literacy Levels
88.1%

**Draft. EMB has been requested to update the draft. Response awaited. NA-10 163

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