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1st LD: Opposition set to win Jamaican parliamentary elections

Xinhua, February 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

On promises to create jobs and cut taxes, the current opposition Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) regained power in the Caribbean island with a slim victory in the parliamentary elections on Thursday.

Preliminary results showed the JLP, led by Andrew Holness, garnered at least 32 seats in Jamaica's 63-seat House of Representatives, while the remaining seats went to its old rival, the People's National Party (PNP), led by incumbent Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller. Holness will be sworn in as Jamaica's next prime minister.

Holness, 43, was first elected as member of parliament in 1997 at the age of 25. He succeeded Bruce Golding as both leader of the JLP and prime minister of Jamaica in October 2011, becoming the youngest person to hold the offices in Jamaican history. Two months later, he and his party were defeated by the Simpson-Miller-led PNP in the parliamentary elections in December 2011.

The parliament of Jamaica has two chambers, but only the 63-member House of Representatives is directly elected. The Senate has 21 seats, of which 13 are chosen by the prime minister and eight by the leader of the opposition. Endi