About ECJ

                  

The Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ)   came into being on December 1, 2006. The Commission replaced the Electoral Advisory Committee (EAC) that had been established in 1979. The EAC paved the way for the establishment of the Commission which is now a permanent independent and autonomous authority that  reports directly to Parliament.

The objective of the Commission is to safeguard the democratic foundations of Jamaica by enabling eligible electors to elect, through free and fair elections, their representatives to govern Jamaica.

The day-to-day operations of the ECJ are  carried out through  the Electoral Office of Jamaica (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 (ROPA), the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act and the Parish Council Act.

 

             

The Electoral Commission comprises four Selected Members, four Nominated Members which include two persons nominated by the Prime Minister and two nominated by the Leader of the Opposition and the Director of Elections.
One of the Selected Members is appointed Chairman of the Commission.

The Director of Elections manages the operations of the  EOJ and reports to the Commission.

The Electoral Office is divided into three main departments:

• Administration
• Field Operations
• Information Systems

 

There are sixty-three (63) Constituency Offices (Registration Centres) islandwide.

                      

          

Our mission is to so conduct national elections so that no advantage is given to any party or individual contesting the polls, ensuring that the objective of one man one vote is met under the six stated principles of universal adult suffrage.

WHAT WE DO

• Conduct local government and parliamentary elections and referenda
• Monitor electoral funding and financial disclosure requirements.
• Determine polling division and constituency boundaries.
• Use Geographic Information System (GIS) to record and define boundaries.
• Continuous registration of electors and residence verification of applicants
• Prepare the voters list, updated every six months on May 31 and November 30 of each year.
• Print and issue voter ID cards. We also produce ID cards for external agencies.
• Conduct external elections for schools, universities, associations and organisations
• Recruit and train  Election Day workers
• Produce and print electoral maps for planning and general information.
• Voter education