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Jamaican Presidential Election
September 3, 2020
General elections were held in Jamaica on Thursday, 3 September 2020 to elect 63 members of Parliament. As the constitution stipulates a five-year parliamentary term, the next elections were not expected until between 25 February and 10 June 2021. However, Prime Minister Andrew Holness called early elections to ensure a united response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On the advice of Holness, Governor General Patrick Allen dissolved Parliament on 13 August 2020.
The result was a victory for the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, which received 57% of the vote and won 48 seats; the People’s National Party remained the opposition party, losing 16 seats. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2019–2020 dengue fever epidemic, voter turnout was only 37%, the lowest in an election since 1983.
Sources and further reading:
Jamaica Holds Election With Success Story Shattered by Virus
Election results ‘a shocker’ to many Jamaicans in US
