The Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) is the independent statutory agency of the Government of Jamaica responsible for organising, conducting and supervising elections, by-elections and referendums.
Objective of the Electoral Commission
The Electoral Commission (Interim) Act (2006)
defines the objective of the Electoral Commission as:
Functions of the Electoral Commission
The functions of the Electoral Commission are defined by law and in summary are
# Establish policies for governing the registration of electors
# Conduct general elections, local government elections, by-elections or referendums
# Compile and maintain the register of eligible electors
# Verify the identity of eligible electors
# Approve political parties eligible to receive state funding
# administer electoral funding and financial disclosure requirements
# monitor election expenditure by candidates or their official agents
# review the number of constituencies and boundaries
# determine polling divisions within constituencies
History
Formation of the Electoral Commission
In October 2006, the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the Electoral Commission (Interim) Act 2006, which established the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ). The Commission replaced the Electoral Advisory Committee (EAC) that had been established by the Representation of the People Act 1979
The day-to-day operations of the ECJ are carried out through the
Electoral Office of Jamaica
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
(EOJ) which is a public government agency established in 1943 to administer the holding of Parliamentary and Local Government Elections.
The holding of Parliamentary and Local Government Elections and all activities pertinent to these elections are regulated by the Representation of People Act and the Local Governance Act.
Previous Electoral Advisory Committee
The Electoral Advisory Committee (EAC) was established in 1979, dissolved in 2006 and replaced by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ). Errol Miller was the last Chairman of the EAC, from December 2000 to December 2006, and the first Chairman of the ECJ from December 2006 to December 2012.
Membership
Membership of the Electoral Commission is governed by the Electoral Commission (Interim) Act (2006).
[ The Commission has nine members appointed by the ]Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
, as follows:
# Four Nominated Commissioners, two nominated the Prime Minister and two nominated by the Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
# Four Selected Commissioners jointly agreed upon by both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.
# The eight Commissioners unanimously nominate the Director of Elections
# The Commissioners also nominate one their number to be Chairman of the Commission
Selected Commissioners and the Director of Elections are appointed for a period of seven years, while Nominated Commissioners serve for four years.
List of Electoral Commissioners
Current Commissioners
Former commissioners
References
{{National election commissions
Jamaica
Elections in Jamaica
Ministries and agencies of the government of Jamaica
2006 establishments in Jamaica