Off the wire
• India's Mumbai declares 16 no-selfie zones after incidents  • 1st LD: Two key elections kick off in Iran  • Japan pledges 1 mln USD in aid to tackle Zika virus in Latin America  • Indonesia downplays Aussie warning about possible terror attacks  • 1st LD: Opposition set to win Jamaican parliamentary elections  • China crude oil output down  • Five Canadian university students win Chinese-funded scholarship  • New thinking boosts economic growth quality  • Bolivia's ruling party admits "difficulties" in elections without Morales  • Messages against migrants in presidential campaign "dangerous": Biden  
You are here: 　 Home

2nd LD: Opposition wins Jamaican parliamentary elections

Xinhua, February 26, 2016 Adjust font size:

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

Poll result shows the JLP, led by Andrew Holness, garnered 33 seats in the 63-seat House of Representatives, while the ruling People's National Party (PNP), led by Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, won the other 30 seats.

Holness, 43, will serve as the next prime minister.

Holness was first elected as a member of parliament in 1997 at the age of 25. He succeeded Bruce Golding as leader of the JLP and the prime minister of Jamaica on Oct. 23, 2011.

Two months later, his party was defeated by its old rival the PNP in the parliamentary elections.

Over the past four years, Jamaica has suffered an economic stagnation with an average growth rate below 1 percent. Its per capita income is the lowest among English-speaking Caribbean islands.

In 2013, Jamaica stuck a deal with the International Monetary Fund, under which the global financial institution agreed to inject some 932 million U.S. dollars into the debt-ridden economy in a four-year term. In return, the Caribbean island promised to cut government spending, freeze public sector wages and restructure public debts.

With these austerity measures in place, the Simpson-Miller administration managed to bridge the fiscal deficit and put the economy on the track of growth. But high unemployment, growing household cost and high crime rate remain.

During the campaign, Holness promised to abolish income tax for those who earn less than 1.5 million Jamaican dollars (12,400 U.S. dollars) per year, and to create 250,000 new jobs in the next five years.

His other promises include boosting the agriculture sector, improving public sector efficiency, facilitating housing solutions, attracting foreign investment.

Jamaica's parliament has two chambers: the 63-member House of Representatives, which is directly elected, and the 21-member Senate, whose 13 members are chosen by the prime minister and the other eight members by the leader of the opposition. Endi