1980 Jamaican general election
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General elections were held in Jamaica on 30 October 1980.[1] The balance of power in the 60-seat Jamaican House of Representatives was dramatically-shifted. Prior to the vote, the People's National Party (PNP), led by Prime Minister Michael Manley, had a 47 to 13 majority over the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), led by Edward Seaga. With the loss by 38 PNP incumbents to their JLP challengers, Seaga's party captured a 51 to 9 majority and Seaga replaced Manley as Prime Minister of Jamaica. Voter turnout was 87%.[1]
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30 October 1980
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All 60 seats in the House of Representatives 31 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 86.91% ( 1.70pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conduct
The elections were marked by gun violence, exacerbated by economic pressure related to IMF austerity, lay-offs of public workers, and blackouts due to a national electric strike.[2] 153 elderly women died in the Eventide Home fire on 20 May, which was suspected, but not proven, to have been started by politically-motivated arsonists.[3]
Results
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| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| Jamaica Labour Party | 502,115 | 58.88 | 51 | +38 | |
| People's National Party | 350,064 | 41.05 | 9 | –38 | |
| Independents | 527 | 0.06 | 0 | New | |
| Total | 852,706 | 100.00 | 60 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 852,706 | 99.07 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 8,040 | 0.93 | |||
| Total votes | 860,746 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 990,417 | 86.91 | |||
| Source: Nohlen | |||||