What happens in Gordon House...

The 1962 Constitution established a parliamentary system based on the United Kingdom model.
As chief of state, Queen Elizabeth II appoints a governor general, on the advice of the prime minister, as her representative in Jamaica. The governor general's role is largely ceremonial. Executive power is vested in the cabinet, led by the prime minister.

The parliament
Parliament is composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives. Thirteen Senators are nominated on the advice of the prime minister and eight on the advice of the leader of the opposition.

General elections must be held within 5 years of the forming of a new government. The prime minister may ask the governor general to call elections sooner, however. The Senate may submit bills, and it also reviews legislation submitted by the House. It may not delay budget bills for more than 1 month or other bills for more than 7 months.

The prime minister and the Cabinet are selected from the Parliament. No fewer than two nor more than four members of the Cabinet must be selected from the Senate.


The judiciary also is modeled on the U.K. system. The Court of Appeals is the highest appellate court in Jamaica. Under certain circumstances, cases may be appealed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. Jamaica's parishes have elected councils that exercise limited powers of local government.

Political conditions
Jamaica's political system is stable.
However, the country's serious economic problems have exacerbated social problems and have become the subject of political debate.

High unemployment -averaging 15.7% in 1999- rampant underemployment, growing debt, high interest rates, and labor unrest are the most serious economic problems.
The migration of unemployed people to urban areas, coupled with an increase in the use and trafficking of narcotics - crack cocaine and ganja (marijuana) - contribute to a high level of violent crime, especially in Kingston.

JLP vs PNP
The two long-established political parties have historical links with two major trade unions--the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) with the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the People's National Party (PNP) with the National Workers Union (NWU).
A third party, the National Democratic Movement (NDM), was created in October 1995; it does not have links with any particular trade union.

For health reasons, Michael Manley stepped down as Prime Minister in March 1992 and was replaced by P.J. Patterson. Patterson subsequently led the PNP to victory in general elections in 1993 and in December 1997.
The 1997 victory marked the first time any Jamaican political party has won three consecutive general elections since the introduction of universal suffrage to Jamaica in 1944.

The current composition of the lower house of Jamaica's Parliament is 49 PNP and 11 JLP. The JLP won a long-held PNP parliamentary seat in a March 2001 by-election. The NDM, a breakaway faction of the JLP, failed to win any seats in the 1997 election.


Since the 1993 elections, the Jamaican Government, political parties, and Electoral Advisory Committee have worked to enact electoral reform, with limited success.

In the 1997 general elections, grassroots Jamaican efforts, supplemented by international observers, helped reduce the violence that has tended to mar Jamaican elections.
Local elections were held in 1998, when the PNP won a decisive victory. Jamaican law requires that local elections be held every 3 years; elections may be delayed through legislation.