Jamaican general election, 1997
Encyclopedia
General elections were held in Jamaica
on 18 December 1997. 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
.
s, inflation
had fallen substantially and the national football team
had just qualified for the 1998 World Cup
. 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.
A record 197 candidates contested the election, with a new political party, the National Democratic Movement, standing in most of the seats. The National Democratic Movement had been founded in 1995 by a former Labour Party chairman, Bruce Golding
, after a dispute over the leadership of the Jamaica Labour Party.
, led by the former Prime Minister Edward Seaga
. 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.
The election was mainly free of violence as compared to previous elections, although it began with an incident where rival motorcade
s from the main parties were fired on. The election was the first in Jamaica where a team of international election monitors attended. The monitors were from the Carter Center
and included Jimmy Carter
, Colin Powell
and former heavyweight
boxing
world champion Evander Holyfield
. Just before the election the two main party leaders made a joint appeal for people to avoid marring the election with violence. Election day itself saw one death and 4 injuries relating to the election, but the 1980 election
had seen over 800 deaths.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
on 18 December 1997. The ruling People's National Party
People's National Party
The People's National Party is a social democratic and social liberal Jamaican political party, founded by Norman Manley in 1938. It is the oldest political party in the Anglophone Caribbean and one of the main two political parties in Jamaica. Out of the two major parties, it is considered more...
of Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Jamaica
The Prime Minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Andrew Holness was elected as the new leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party and succeeded Bruce Golding to become Jamaica's ninth Prime Minister on 23 October 2011...
P. J. Patterson
P. J. Patterson
Percival Noel James Patterson, ON, QC, PC, O.E., was the sixth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1992 to 2006. Until February 2006 he was the leader of the Jamaican People's National Party . The new PNP leader, Portia Simpson-Miller, took over as Prime Minister on 30 March 2006...
won 50 of the 60 seats defeating the main opposition Jamaica Labour Party
Jamaica Labour Party
The Jamaica Labour Party is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party. Despite its name, the JLP is a centre-right, conservative party.-Background:...
.
Background
Prime Minister P. J. Patterson announced on the 27 November that the election would be held on the 18 December. Patterson saw this as the right time to go the country as his People's National Party was ahead in the opinion pollOpinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
s, inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
had fallen substantially and the national football team
Jamaica national football team
The Jamaica national football team is the national team of Jamaica and is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation. After decades in CONCACAF obscurity, they gained many fans throughout the world after they qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup...
had just qualified for the 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
. The previous election in 1993
Jamaican general election, 1993
General elections were held in Jamaica on 30 March 1993. The result was a victory for the People's National Party, which won 52 of the 60 seats. Voter turnout was 67.4%.-Results:...
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.
A record 197 candidates contested the election, with a new political party, the National Democratic Movement, standing in most of the seats. The National Democratic Movement had been founded in 1995 by a former Labour Party chairman, Bruce Golding
Bruce Golding
Orette Bruce Golding MP served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from 11 September 2007 to 23 October 2011. He is a member of the Jamaica Labour Party.-Biography:...
, after a dispute over the leadership of the Jamaica Labour Party.
Campaign
The election was seen as being mainly between the governing People's National Party and the main opposition Jamaica Labour PartyJamaica Labour Party
The Jamaica Labour Party is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party. Despite its name, the JLP is a centre-right, conservative party.-Background:...
, led by the former Prime Minister Edward Seaga
Edward Seaga
Edward Philip George Seaga ON PC was the fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1980 to 1989 and Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party from 1974 to 2005. He served as leader of the opposition from 1974 to 1980 and again from 1989 until January 2005...
. 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.
The election was mainly free of violence as compared to previous elections, although it began with an incident where rival motorcade
Motorcade
A motorcade is a procession of vehicles. The term motorcade was coined by Lyle Abbot , and is formed after cavalcade on the false notion that "-cade" was a suffix meaning "procession"...
s from the main parties were fired on. The election was the first in Jamaica where a team of international election monitors attended. The monitors were from the Carter Center
Carter Center
The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter. In partnership with Emory University, The Carter Center works to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering...
and included Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
and former heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
world champion Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield
Evander Holyfield is a professional boxer from the United States. He is a former undisputed world champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, earning him the nickname "The Real Deal"...
. Just before the election the two main party leaders made a joint appeal for people to avoid marring the election with violence. Election day itself saw one death and 4 injuries relating to the election, but the 1980 election
Jamaican general election, 1980
General elections were held in Jamaica on 30 October 1980. The result was a victory for the Jamaica Labour Party, which won 51 of the 60 seats. Voter turnout was 86.9%.-Results:...
had seen over 800 deaths.
Results
In winning the election the People's National Party became the first party to win 3 consecutive terms. 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. The National Democratic Movement failed to win any seats despite a pre-election prediction that they would manage to win a seat.| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People's National Party People's National Party The People's National Party is a social democratic and social liberal Jamaican political party, founded by Norman Manley in 1938. It is the oldest political party in the Anglophone Caribbean and one of the main two political parties in Jamaica. Out of the two major parties, it is considered more... |
429,805 | 56.2 | 50 | |
| Jamaica Labour Party Jamaica Labour Party The Jamaica Labour Party is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party. Despite its name, the JLP is a centre-right, conservative party.-Background:... |
297,387 | 38.9 | 10 | |
| National Democratic Movement | 36,707 | 4.8 | 0 | New |
| Independents | 885 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Invalid/blank votes | 6,284 | – | – | – |
| Total | 771,068 | 100 | 60 | 0 |
| Source: Nohlen | ||||