At stake in this election:

• 60 seats in the House of Representatives

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Andrew HOLNESS
• Assembly: Jamaica has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate with 21 seats and the House of Representatives with 60 seats.

* The Queen is represented by Governor General Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN.

Description of electoral system:

• The Queen is the hereditary head of state.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the governor-general.
• In the Senate 21 members are appointed by the governor-general*. In the House of Representatives 60 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

* The governor-general appoints members of the Senate on recommendation by the Prime Minister and leader of the opposing party. The ruling party is given 13 seats in the Senate, while the minority party is allotted 8 seats.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)
  Leader: Andrew HOLNESS
  Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 32
• Party: People's National Party (PNP)
  Leader: Portia SIMPSON-MILLER
  Seats won in last House of Representatives election: 28

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 2,847,232 (July 2010 est.)
• Registered Voters: 1,647,911 (December 2011 Approx)