Jamaica Political System

According to Countryaah.com, with capital city of Kingston, Jamaica is a country located in North America with total population of 2,961,178.

Following the 1962 Constitution, Jamaica is a parliamentary-democratic unity state. The country is a member of the Commonwealth and has the British monarch as the titular head of state. The monarch is represented by a Governor-General, appointed on a proposal by the Jamaican Prime Minister.

Legislative power has been added to the National Assembly consisting of an appointed Senate and a House of Representatives elected. First, 21 members – 13 appointed on the proposal of the prime minister and 8 on the proposal of the opposition leader. The senators sit for five years. The House of Representatives has 60 members, who are elected in individual circles for five years. The voting age is 18 years. The Prime Minister is based on the majority in the House of Representatives. The government is also appointed by the Governor-General, but on a proposal from the Prime Minister. The governor-general also appoints the leader of the opposition, who in practice is the leader of the opposition party. There are two dominant parties: the Jamaica Labor Party, JLP, which despite the name stands to the right, and the more leftist People’s National Party, PNP.

Administratively

Administratively, Jamaica is divided into 14 local areas; two of these, the capital of Kingston and the surrounding area, form a separate administrative unit, the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation. The local areas are governed by elected councils. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for how JA can stand for Jamaica.

The judiciary

The judiciary is based on English common law tradition and English practice in general. The courts initially include magistrate courts, two family courts and the Courts of Petty Sessions. In the next instance, they include an appeal court and a Supreme Court. A separate six-member Privy Council provides advice to the Governor-General on pardon cases and appeals against military disciplinary decisions.

Jamaica’s defense

Jamaica’s defense is based on volunteerism. Jamaica has no navy or its own air force, but a combined defense force that includes a coastguard and an air component. The total force for Jamaica’s armed forces is 3950 active personnel, with a reserve of 980 personnel (2018, IISS).

The army is easily equipped and has a staff strength of 3400 active personnel. The air component has 250 active personnel, one maritime patrol aircraft, four light transport aircraft and nine helicopters. The Coast Guard has a workforce of 300 active personnel, and ten patrol vessels.