Capital:
name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
Administrative divisions:
14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland,
Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint
James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were
amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as
the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
Independence:
6 August 1962 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
Constitution:
6 August 1962
Legal system:
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February
2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Portia SIMPSON-MILLER (since 30
March 2006)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of
the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general
appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime
minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the
majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House
of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor
general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime
minister
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body
appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the
prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is
allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and
the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by
popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held no later than
October 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%;
seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the
advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal