Parliament of Jamaica
Encyclopedia
The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch
of the government of Jamaica
. It is a bicameral body
, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives.
The Senate (upper house
) – the direct successor of a pre-Independence body known as the "Legislative Council" – comprises 21 senators appointed by the governor-general: thirteen on the advice of the Prime Minister
and eight on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition
.
The House of Representatives, the lower house
, is made up of 60 (previously 45) Members of Parliament, elected to five-year terms on a first-past-the-post
basis in single-seat constituencies.
The Parliament meets in Gordon House at 81 Duke Street, Kingston. It was built in 1960 and named in memory of Jamaican patriot George William Gordon
.
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
of the government of Jamaica
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...
. It is a bicameral body
Bicameralism
In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives.
The Senate (upper house
Upper house
An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
) – the direct successor of a pre-Independence body known as the "Legislative Council" – comprises 21 senators appointed by the governor-general: thirteen on the advice of the 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...
and eight on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
.
The House of Representatives, the lower house
Lower house
A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
, is made up of 60 (previously 45) Members of Parliament, elected to five-year terms on a first-past-the-post
First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
basis in single-seat constituencies.
The Parliament meets in Gordon House at 81 Duke Street, Kingston. It was built in 1960 and named in memory of Jamaican patriot George William Gordon
George William Gordon
George William Gordon, National Hero of Jamaica was a Jamaican businessman and politician. On the centenary of his death, he was proclaimed a National Hero of Jamaica. Gordon was the 2nd of 7 children born to a white planter, Joseph Gordon and a mulatto slave, Ann Rattray in April 1815 although...
.