Opposition wins Jamaican elections

Washington, December 30, 2011

The opposition People's National Party, led by former premier Portia Simpson Miller, won the Jamaica's general elections, preliminary results showed late Thursday.



The party had already won more than half the 63 seats up for grabs in Thursday's elections.



Karl Samuda, the campaign director of the governing Centre-Right Jamaica Labour Party, conceded defeat on national television.



The win for the Centre-Left People's National Party means Ms. Miller would return to office after a gap of four years.



Prime Minister Andrew Holness called the snap election after taking office when Bruce Golding resigned in October.



Final results were expected Saturday.



About 1.6 million citizens of the Caribbean island were eligible to vote.



A key election issue was the Caribbean island's high national debt of about 130 per cent of its gross domestic product. High unemployment and crime were also key issues in the campaign.


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