The British monarch is the ceremonial head of state and is represented by a governor general.

The prime minister is the head of government; the position is appointed after elections by the governor general and goes to the leader of the majority party. The prime minister’s legitimacy rests largely on the conduct of legislative elections, which are generally free and fair. Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Andrew Holness became prime minister in 2016 and was returned to office four years later.

Jamaica’s bicameral Parliament consists of a 63-member House of Representatives, elected for five years, and a 21-member Senate. Senators, who are appointed, also serve five-year terms.

In the free and fair September 2020 polls, the governing JLP took 57 percent of the vote and 49 seats. Turnout, at 37.9 percent, was the second-lowest figure on record, with the polls being affected by voter apathy and COVID-19.

Electoral laws are generally fair, and they are implemented impartially by the Electoral Commission.

Local elections were due in November 2020 but have been postponed, largely due to COVID-19. The government legislated in February 2023, days ahead of the delayed contests, to delay them for a third time. The legislation pushed the elections to early 2024, with the government citing the country’s post-COVID-19 recovery and discussions over the formation of a new parish to explain its move. The opposition voiced disagreement, questioning the government’s explanation and warning that some local posts were vacant.

Score Change: The score declined from 4 to 3 because the government used its legislative majority to delay local elections to 2024.

Political parties form and operate without restriction. Although various smaller parties are active, the social democratic People’s National Party (PNP) and the more conservative JLP dominate at the national level.

Opposition parties operate freely, and political power has alternated between the PNP and JLP.

Powerful criminal organizations can influence voters who live in areas they control. They have used tactics including intimidation to ensure high voter turnout for particular candidates or parties in exchange for political favors; there were scattered reports of such activity in the 2020 election.

Women are underrepresented in politics. Women held 27.4 percent of the lower house’s seats as of December 2023.

LGBT+ people face harassment and violence, limiting their ability to engage in political and electoral processes. Political attacks are often couched in anti-LGBT+ rhetoric.

The elected prime minister and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government. However, powerful criminal groups, as well as corruption in politics, can affect democratic policymaking.

Long-standing links between officials and organized crime figures are thought to persist. Government bodies pursue corruption investigations, and cases often end in convictions. Media and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have criticized authorities for their reluctance to pursue some cases, however. Cases have also faced delays. Government whistleblowers are poorly protected. Anticorruption efforts have been mounted in recent years, supported by an Integrity Commission (IC). However, the IC’s effectiveness has been limited.

In January 2023, the FSC assumed control of SSL, a wealth-management firm, after news surfaced of fraud at SSL. Later in January, the government appointed a new board at the FSC amid criticism over its performance and decided that the central bank would take on more regulatory responsibilities. Jean-Ann Panton, a financial expert at SSL, was indicted for fraud in February and remained in custody as of December. Investigations were ongoing with support from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. In December, Jamaican investigators disclosed that 200 accounts were impacted.

In September 2023, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, resigned from her post and from the house after the IC filed charges against her for buying a car using a government concession and not reporting the transaction. The IC’s annual report, released in June, noted that it was investigating six parliamentarians for illicit enrichment and seven for providing false information in its 2022–23 reporting period.

An access-to-information law was introduced in 2004 but contains exemptions. Legislative processes are often opaque and parliamentary oversight committees are of variable effectiveness. In 2022, the JLP government scrapped the position of political ombudsman.

The constitutional right to free expression is generally respected. Most newspapers are privately owned and express a variety of views. Broadcast media are largely publicly owned but are similarly vibrant.

In September 2023, a gunman opened fire in the car park of the Nationwide News Network. No one was injured, but the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) denounced the attack. Earlier in the month, PNP general secretary Dayton Campbell had called the news outlet “an incubator for the Jamaica Labour Party,” a statement the PAJ heavily criticized.

Freedom of religion is constitutionally protected and generally respected in practice. Laws banning Obeah, an Afro-Caribbean shamanistic religion, remain on the books but are not actively enforced.

The government does not restrict academic freedom.

Individuals are generally free to express their personal views on political or other sensitive topics. However, the presence of powerful criminal groups in some urban neighborhoods can discourage people from openly discussing criminal activities.

The JLP has attempted in recent years to roll out a National Identification System (NIDS), but it has been delayed because of privacy concerns.

Freedom of assembly is provided for by the constitution and is largely respected in practice. Protests are occasionally marred by violence or otherwise unsafe conditions.

Jamaica has a robust and vibrant civil society with many active community groups. However, some struggle financially or have difficulty attracting volunteers. Others are funded by the central government but largely act autonomously. NGOs are well represented in the education, health, and environment sectors.

Around 20 percent of the workforce is unionized, and antiunion discrimination is illegal. Labor unions are politically influential and have the right to strike. However, workers in essential services must undergo an arbitration process with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security before they may legally strike, and the definition of the work constituting “essential services” is broad. There are reports of private employers laying off unionized workers and then rehiring them as contract workers.

The Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) is allowed to reinstate workers whose dismissals are found to be unjustified, although cases before the IDT often take some time to be heard.

Judicial independence is constitutionally guaranteed. While the judiciary is widely considered independent, corruption remains a problem in some lower courts.

A large backlog of cases and a shortage of court staff has undermined the justice system, but efforts have been made in recent years to address the problem. In September 2023, the government announced that the backlog in parish courts had been cleared, and progress was also being made at the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court.

Progress was assisted by a 2017 law that increased ways for the resolution of cases outside trial. In November 2023, the government announced that the Restorative Justice program had a success rate of 80 percent for referred cases, and that the program had secured nearly 7,600 agreements over the preceding four years.

In October 2023, a new Bail Act, which allows bail to be offered at more stages of relevant legal proceedings, was approved.

Score Change: The score improved from 2 to 3 because more court cases were being adjudicated or resolved and because of the October passage of the Bail Act.

Killings by police remain a serious problem in Jamaica. According to the government’s Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), 155 people were killed in incidents involving security personnel in 2023. Prosecutions for illegal killings by security officers are rare. In October, Jamaica’s security minister was criticized for saying police officers should shoot to kill if defending themselves.

Jamaica has one of the highest homicide rates in the Americas, but the murder rate fell by 7.9 percent from 2022 to 2023. Much of the country’s violence, particularly in Kingston, is the result of warfare between drug-trafficking gangs. Many initiatives to address the problem have been undertaken, and gang-related murders reportedly fell in 2023, but crime and violence are deeply entrenched.

States of emergency, which provide expanded authority to security forces, are frequently imposed in response to localized spikes in violence.

Harassment and violence targeting LGBT+ people remain major concerns, and such instances are frequently ignored by the police. Anti-LGBT+ discrimination is pervasive, though some politicians have spoken out in support of LGBT+ rights.

Article 76 of the colonial-era Offences against the Person Act (OPA) criminalizes the act of buggery; men engaging in same-sex acts could be punished with hard labor lasting as long as 10 years. In October 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the OPA, saying that several provisions “cannot be enquired into.” A clause contained within the 2011 bill of rights prohibits some laws, including parts of the OPA, from being subjected to judicial review.

Women enjoy the same legal rights as men but suffer employment discrimination and are often paid less for the same work. Acceptance of Rastafarians is increasing, but discrimination persists, particularly in schools.

Local NGOs have raised concerns about how the authorities treat illegal migrants from Haiti and the lack of due process in considering requests for asylum.

Constitutional freedom-of-movement guarantees are impacted by violence in practice. States of emergency are regularly enacted, with affected residents facing roadblocks, random searches, and identity checks. There are no formal restrictions on people’s ability to change their place of employment or education.

Jamaica has an active private sector and a powerful probusiness lobby. Individuals are free to establish businesses subject to legal requirements, which are not onerous. Recent reforms have included expediting the incorporation process, making electricity in Kingston more consistent, and easing the import process. Corruption and crime can still hamper normal business activity.

Legal protections for women and girls are poorly enforced, and violence and discrimination remain widespread. There is no blanket ban on spousal rape. Child abuse, including sexual abuse, is widespread. Abortion is illegal under the OPA, though pregnant Jamaicans are known to pursue the procedure.

The Sexual Harassment (Protection and Prevention) Act took effect in July 2023. The new law obligates workplaces to create policies on sexual harassment and provide guidance for complainants.

Residents of neighborhoods where criminal groups are influential risk becoming victims of human traffickers. Child sex tourism occurs in some resort areas according to local NGOs.

In the 2023 edition of its Trafficking in Persons Report, the US State Department said that the authorities were making progress in eliminating trafficking. However, authorities did not screen children detained over gang-related activity for trafficking and no adult victims were identified during the department’s reporting period.