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3rd LD Writethru: Opposition wins Jamaica 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 this Caribbean island nation with a narrow victory in parliamentary elections on Thursday.

Poll results show 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.

A total of 869,579 eligible voters cast their ballots in Thursday's elections, with 50.2 percent voting for the JLP and 49.7 percent for the PNP.

"This is not the end of the journey. It's the beginning of changing Jamaica... our mission is to move Jamaica from poverty to prosperity, our mission is to make it possible," a beaming Holness told jubilant supporters shortly after his victory was confirmed.

"We will grow the Jamaican economy, we will create jobs, we will give you an accountable and responsive government, and we will also address your water problems. We will address your housing problems, we will address your education problems and we will beat your healthy problems," Holness said.

Simpson-Miller conceded the defeat. She asked supporters to accept what has happened and "go home safe."

Holness will be Jamaica's next prime minister. He 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 struck 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 nation 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.

The unemployment rate in Jamaica now stands at around 13 percent, with about 38 percent of young people without jobs.

The country is among countries with the highest homicide rate in the world, according to the United Nation's Office on Drugs and Crime. It recorded 1,207 murders in 2015, up nearly 20 percent year-on-year.

During the election 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 and 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