Holness returns as Jamaica PM by a landslide

THE Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) scored a landslide victory in that country's general election to win a second term in office.

Preliminary results in Thursday's election showed the JLP won 50 seats and the opposition People's National Party (PNP) won 13.

Going into the election, the JLP had 34 seats in Jamaica's parliament and the PNP had 29. Both Prime Minister/JLP leader Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillip were confident of victory in the election.

But Phillip told reporters after casting his ballot earlier in the day that he would resign as PNP leader and retire from representative politics if the party lost. Holness was sure the JLP's ability to manage the covid19 pandemic would encourage the electorate to give the party a second term.

The Election Commission of Jamaica projected the voter turnout could be low. The commission said at 11 am (noon TT time) about 16 per cent of the electorate had voted. A total of 1.9 million people were eligible to vote.

A total of 139 candidates contested the election. The JLP and PNP each fielded 63 candidates. A total of 13 independent candidates also faced the polls.