KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC– Just over 45,400 police, soldiers and election day workers are eligible to cast ballots on Friday ahead of the September 3 general elections in Jamaica. Electoral officials say that 12,793 police electors, 5,126 military officials, and 27,536 election day workers cast ballots at the 215 locations across the country.
The Electoral Commission of Jamaica states that 189 candidates are contesting the elections, with the two main political parties, the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP), both nominating candidates for the 63 seats in Parliament.
The JLP is seeking a third consecutive term in office.
Since gaining universal adult suffrage in 1944, Jamaica has held 18 general elections with both the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) winning on nine occasions each.
According to the electoral officials, police and military voters are assigned to their voting location based on information provided by the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).
In the 2020 general election, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, 4,849 of 11,512 police officers registered to vote exercised their franchise during the special voting period, with 982 of the 4,181 soldiers doing so.
The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) says more than 7,000 polling stations will be operational across the country’s 63 constituencies for the September 3 poll.
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