VOA
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ Jamaica Labour Party won a decisive victory in Thursday’s general election, retaining power by claiming 49 seats compared to the People’s National Party’s 14 seats in the preliminary tally.
The final ballot count from all 63 constituencies will continue Friday.
Speaking from the JLP’s headquarters in Kingston, Holness said the opposition leader, Peter Phillips, conceded the election and congratulated him on the landslide victory.
The prime minister attempted to strike a unifying tone, urging supporters of the People’s National Party to join in celebrating the country’s victory.
He also warned members of his party not to take the citizens for granted after winning the election in which many Jamaican did not participate for various reasons, including fear over the coronavirus.
The JLP’s victory marks the first time the party has won consecutive elections in more than 50 years.
Who is the prime minister?
Mr Holness, a former education minister and leader of the conservative Jamaican Labour Party, has been prime minister since March 2016.
At a televised debate on Saturday, he said 100,000 jobs had been created during his time in office while 22,000 Jamaicans had had the chance to buy their own homes. Taxes had been cut, he said, and poverty was at its lowest level in 10 years.
However, the prime minister has also faced criticism over high rates of crime and violence, and alleged corruption among public officials.
In 2011, Mr Holness became Jamaica’s youngest prime minister at the age of 39, but governed for only 74 days after losing an election to Portia Simpson Miller, the country’s first female head of government.
During the election campaign, the prime minister’s opponent Peter Phillips had said his People’s National Party was an alternative to “economic stagnation [and] major crime” and that he could offer a “future of relief from Covid-19 pressures”.
According to the World Bank, inequality in Jamaica is lower than in most countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, but the poverty rate is still significant – 19% of the population in 2017.
The pandemic is likely to affect the country’s economy, heavily dependent on tourism.