Parliament of Jamaica
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Parliament is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It is a bicameral body, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives.
The Senate (upper house) – the direct successor of a pre-Independence body known as the "Legislative Council" – comprises 21 senators appointed by the governor-general: thirteen on the advice of the Prime Minister and eight on the advice of the Leader of the opposition.
The House of Representatives, the lower house, is made up of 60 (previously 45) Members of Parliament, elected to five-year terms on a first-past-the-post basis in single-seat constituencies.
[edit] Current composition
| Parties | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamaica Labour Party | 405,215 | 50.14 | +2.8 | 33 | +6 |
| People's National Party | 402,275 | 49.77 | –1.9 | 27 | –6 |
| National Democratic Movement | 540 | 0.07 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Independents | 207 | 0.03 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Jamaica Alliance Movement | 3 | 0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Imperial Ethiopian World Federation Incorporation Party | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Jerusalem Bread Foundation | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Total (turnout 60.40%) | 808,240 | 60 | |||
| Source: Jamaicaelections.com and Adam Carr | |||||
The Supreme Court of Jamaica has unseated Daryl Vaz of the Western Portland constituency because he is a citizen of the United States of America. As per Jamaica's Constitution, it is illegal for a person with allegiance to another country to sit in Jamaica's House of Representatives. The Constitution declares that the person with the next highest vote total in that constituency should be the new Member of Parliament, but the Supreme Court ordered a by-election which will take place within 45 days of the verdict. Daryl Vaz is currently renouncing his United States citizenship. The current make up of the Jamaican parliament is therefore 32 - 27 in favor of the JLP. It has now been brought up that Opposition member Sharon Hay-Webster is also a citizen of the United States as she was born in that country. The ruling JLP has not indicated they will take steps to unseat Hay-Webster. Prime Minister Bruce Golding has since declared that he will call an early election if anyone is allowed to sit in Parliament without winning an election.
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