Encyclopedia of Governments of the World Vol.3.pdf

Governments of the World

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A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities

EDITORIAL

BOARD

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EDITOR IN CHIEF

C. Neal Tate

Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science and Professor

of Law, Vanderbilt University

C. Neal Tate is Chair of the Department of Political Science at Vanderbilt

University. Previously, he was Dean of the Toulouse School of Graduate Studies

and Regents Professor of Political Science at the University of North Texas.

He has published widely on comparative judicial politics and international

human rights. Professor Tate has been Director of the Law and Social Science

Program of the U.S. National Science Foundation; President of the International

Political Science Association’s Research Committee on Comparative Judicial

Studies; President of the Southwest Political Science Association; and is

President-Elect of the Southern Political Science Association.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

Martin Edelman

Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University at Albany,

State University of New York

Stacia L. Haynie

Professor and Chair, Department of Political Science, Louisiana State

University

Donald W. Jackson

Professor, Department of Political Science, Texas Christian University

Mary L. Volcansek

Dean, AddRan College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Professor,

Department of Political Science, Texas Christian University

Governments of the World

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A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities

VOLUME 3

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JAMAICA to POLITICAL PROTEST

C. Neal Tate, Editor in Chief

Governments of the World: A Global Guide to Citizens’ Rights and Responsibilities

C. Neal Tate, Editor in Chief

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Governments of the world: a global guide to citizens’ rights and responsibilities /

C. Neal Tate, editor-in-chief.

v. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-02-865811-6 (set hardcover: alk. paper) — ISBN 0-02-865812-4 (vol 1) — ISBN

0-02-865813-2 (vol 2) — ISBN 0-02-865814-0 (vol 3) — ISBN 0-02-865815-9 (vol 4) — ISBN

0-02-866073-0 (e-book)

1. Comparative government—Encyclopedias. I. Tate, C. Neal (Chester Neal), 1943-

JA61.G645 2006

320.3’03—dc22

2005010436

This title is also available as an e-book.

ISBN 0-02-866073-0

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Printed in the United States of America

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Jamaica

Located in the northwestern Caribbean, Jamaica is the third largest island in

the Greater Antilles. It is located 145 kilometers (ninety miles) south of Cuba and

some 161 kilometers (100 miles) west of Haiti. Jamaica is a mountainous island

with a relatively narrow coastal plain. Much of its interior spine, stretching

225 kilometers (140 miles) from east to west, is above 457 meters (1,500 feet).

The highest reaches are in the east, where Blue Mountain Peak extends some

2,255 meters (7,400 feet) above sea level.

Jamaica is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the

Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)

and numerous other international and regional organizations. Jamaica is a par-

liamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. Despite its independence

from the former colonial power Great Britain, the Queen of England remains

head of state. However, her powers are largely ceremonial and are undertaken

by her local representative, the governor-general, who is appointed by the

Queen under the advice of the prime minister in consultation with the leader

of the opposition. Real power resides with the prime minister, who is elected

as a member of the House of Representatives in general elections for sixty

constituency-based, single-member seats.

Elections are normally held every five years and the prime minister is appointed

by the governor-general, based on the confidence of the House majority. The

leader of the opposition is chosen based on an ability to command a majority of

those in the House who do not support the government. In this and other ways,

even though parties are never mentioned, the two-party system is informally

entrenched in the Jamaican constitution to the relative exclusion of third parties.

The party system also is recognized in the upper house or Senate, which

consists of nominated members. Thirteen members are nominated by the

prime minister and eight by the leader of the opposition.

For more than half a century, Jamaica has had an admirable electoral

system based on universal adult suffrage. The entire adult population, without

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