1997 Jamaican general election

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1997 Jamaica general election
Jamaica
← 1993 18 December 1997 2002 →
All 60 seats in the House of Representatives
31 seats needed for a majority
Turnout65.22% (Decrease 2.13pp)
Party Leader % Seats +/–
PNP P. J. Patterson 56.20 50 −2
JLP Edward Seaga 38.89 10 +2
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister before Prime Minister after
P. J. Patterson
PNP		 P. J. Patterson
PNP
Politics of Jamaica
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flag Jamaica portal

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.

Future Prime Minister Andrew Holness entered parliament at this election.

Background

Prime Minister P. J. Patterson announced on 27 November that the election would be held on 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]

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]

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 election was mainly free of violence

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]

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 Party429,80556.2050–2
Jamaica Labour Party297,38738.8910+2
National Democratic Movement36,7074.800New
Independents8850.1200
Total764,784100.00600
Valid votes764,78499.19
Invalid/blank votes6,2840.81
Total votes771,068100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,182,29465.22
Source: Nohlen

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6
  2. ^ a b "Jamaican prime minister sets election date". BBC News Online. 27 November 1997. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d Rohter, Larry (18 December 1997). "In Jamaica, Violence Is the Issue". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  4. ^ "Electoral violence in Jamaica". BBC News Online. 3 December 1997. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Jamaican ruling party victorious by landslide". The Spokesman-Review. 18 December 1997. Retrieved 19 July 2009.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ a b c d e "One dead in Jamaica election violence". BBC News Online. 19 December 1997. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Jamaica Re-Elects Patterson". The Ledger. 20 December 1997. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  8. ^ a b "Voting begins in Jamaican general election". BBC News Online. 18 December 1997. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
  9. ^ a b "Landslide for ruling party". The Guardian. 20 December 1997. p. 14.
  10. ^ Rohter, Larry (19 December 1997). "Top Hill Journal; At Polls in Jamaica, Kissing Cousin From America". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  11. ^ Adams, David (20 December 1997). "Jamaica returns Patterson". The Times. p. 14.
  12. Jamaica Gleaner. 17 December 1997. Archived from the original
    on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 19 July 2009.

External links
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