In surprise landslide, Jamaican opposition wins back power
(Read article summary)Former Prime Minister Portia Simpson, Jamaica's first female prime minister, handily beat Andrew Holness, the nation's youngest prime minister, in yesterday's election.
Jamaica's People's National Party (PNP) won this week's election by a surprisingly large margin. While polls and most analysts believed the race was going to be close, the PNP won 41 of the 63 seats in parliament. PNP leader Portia Simpson Miller will return to the post of prime minister.
The economy was the top issue in the election. The recent global economic weakness that has hit the entire Caribbean exposed serious long-term problems in Jamaica's budget. Given the general dissatisfaction with the economy, it was surprising that outgoing Prime Minister Andrew Holness, only on the job for two months, decided to call for elections.
