Jamaica: Government Structure

Jamaica is governed as a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, built on the Westminster-Whitehall model inherited from British colonial administration. The framework took shape in the Constitution adopted at independence in 1962, a document organized into ten chapters covering citizenship, fundamental rights, the office of the governor-general, Parliament, executive powers, the judicature, and public finance.

Formal head of state authority rests with the British monarch, represented locally by a governor-general whose duties are largely ceremonial, chiefly granting royal assent to legislation passed by Parliament. Actual governance falls to a bicameral Parliament composed of an elected House of Representatives, currently with 63 members, and an appointed Senate of 21 members, most nominated on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. Executive power is exercised by the cabinet, led by the prime minister and drawn from the majority party in the House, which must retain the confidence of its members to remain in office.

This structure has produced a durable two-party system, with power alternating between Jamaica's two major parties since independence. The country's legal system is grounded in British common law, and courts operate within a judicature outlined directly in the constitution, reflecting Jamaica's continued institutional ties to its colonial and Commonwealth history.