IFES Election Guide | Country Profile: Jamaica

Jamaica

2,839,790
Population (as of Jan. 1, 2023)

2,077,800
Registered Voters (as of Sept. 3, 2025)

49.17%
Average Turnout

6
Elections in our database

V-Dem* Score: 0.803
Regimes of the World Classification: Liberal Democracy
*Varieties of Democracy Electoral Democracy Index (2024)

CEDAW Status: Signed and Ratified
Signed Date: July 17, 1980
Ratified Date: Oct. 19, 1984

SIGI* Score: 18.4
Level of Discrimination: Very Low
*Social Institutions and Gender Index (2023)

CRPD Status: Signed and Ratified
Signed Date: March 30, 2007
Ratified Date: March 30, 2007

HDI* Score: 0.720
Category: High
*UNDP Human Development Index (2023)

Name	Official Name	Type
Jamaican House of Representatives		Lower House
Jamaican Senate		Upper House

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: King CHARLES III (since 9 September 2022)
- Represented by Governor-General Patrick ALLEN (since 26 February 2009)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Andrew HOLNESS (since 8 March 2016)
Assembly: Jamaica has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 21 seats and the House of Representatives with 63 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The King is the hereditary head of state.
The Prime Minister is appointed by the governor-general.
In the Senate 21 members are appointed by the governor-general. The governor-general appoints members of the Senate on recommendation by the Prime Minister and leader of the opposing party. The ruling party is given 13 seats in the Senate, while the minority party is allotted 8 seats. In the House of Representatives 63 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

Elections

2025-09-03 | Status: Held
Jamaican House of Representatives
Votes 830,298
Registered 2,077,800
Turnout 39.96

2020-09-03 | Status: Held
Jamaican House of Representatives
Votes 714,808
Registered 1,913,410
Turnout 37.36

2016-02-25 | Status: Held
Jamaican House of Representatives
Votes 870,663
Registered 1,824,410
Turnout 47.72

2011-12-29 | Status: Held
Jamaican House of Representatives
Votes 869,438
Registered 1,648,036
Turnout 52.76

2007-09-03 | Status: Held
Jamaican House of Representatives
Votes 808,240
Registered 1,338,146
Turnout 60.4

2002-10-16 | Status: Held
Jamaican House of Representatives
Votes 734,579
Registered 1,293,373
Turnout 56.8

Election For	Date	Status	Votes	Registered Voters	Turnout
Jamaican House of Representatives	2025-09-03	Held	830,298	2,077,800	39.96
Jamaican House of Representatives	2020-09-03	Held	714,808	1,913,410	37.36
Jamaican House of Representatives	2016-02-25	Held	870,663	1,824,410	47.72
Jamaican House of Representatives	2011-12-29	Held	869,438	1,648,036	52.76
Jamaican House of Representatives	2007-09-03	Held	808,240	1,338,146	60.4
Jamaican House of Representatives	2002-10-16	Held	734,579	1,293,373	56.8

Voter Turnout

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