Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Jamaica

Further information: Foreign relations of Jamaica and Republicanism in Jamaica

Inside the Jamaican Parliament

Jamaica is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II serving as the Jamaican monarch.^[35] As Elizabeth II is shared as head of state of fifteen other countries and resides mostly in the United Kingdom, she is thus often represented as Queen of Jamaica in Jamaica and abroad by the Governor-General of Jamaica.^[36]
The governor-general is nominated by the Prime Minister of Jamaica and the entire Cabinet and appointed by the monarch. All the members of the Cabinet are appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister. The monarch and the governor-general serve largely ceremonial roles, apart from their reserve powers for use in certain constitutional crisis situations.
Jamaica's current constitution was drafted in 1962 by a bipartisan joint committee of the Jamaican legislature. It came into force with the Jamaica Independence Act, 1962 of the United Kingdom parliament, which gave Jamaica independence.
The Parliament of Jamaica is bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House). Members of the House (known as Members of Parliament or MPs) are directly elected, and the member of the House of Representatives who, in the governor-general's best judgement, is best able to command the confidence of a majority of the members of that House, is appointed by the governor-general to be the prime minister. Senators are nominated jointly by the prime minister and the parliamentary Leader of the Opposition and are then appointed by the governor-general.

Political culture

Jamaica has traditionally had a two-party system, with power often alternating between the People's National Party (PNP) and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). The party with current administrative and legislative power is the Jamaica Labour Party, with a one-seat parliamentary majority as of 2016. There are also several minor parties who have yet to gain a seat in parliament; the largest of these is the National Democratic Movement (NDM).

Administrative divisions

Main article: Parishes of Jamaica

Jamaica is divided into 14 parishes, which are grouped into three historic counties that have no administrative relevance.

Cornwall County		Capital	km2	Middlesex County		Capital	km2	Surrey County		Capital	km2
1	Hanover	Lucea	450	6	Clarendon	May Pen	1,196	11	Kingston	Kingston	25
2	Saint Elizabeth	Black River	1,212	7	Manchester	Mandeville	830	12	Portland	Port Antonio	814
3	Saint James	Montego Bay	595	8	Saint Ann	St. Ann's Bay	1,213	13	Saint Andrew	Half Way Tree	453
4	Trelawny	Falmouth	875	9	Saint Catherine	Spanish Town	1,192	14	Saint Thomas	Morant Bay	743
5	Westmoreland	Savanna-la-Mar	807	10	Saint Mary	Port Maria	611