(Jamaica Gleaner) Prime Minister Andrew Holness made the announcement in Parliament recently.
Nomination Day will be Tuesday, August 18, 2020.
It will be Jamaica’s 18th general election since Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944.
“I now see it necessary to seek another mandate from the people,” said Holness before making the announcement.
Both the People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) are expected to field a full slate of 63 candidates while the newly formed Jamaica Progressive Party could have candidates in two-thirds of the seats.
The election is being held at a time when Jamaica is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, which could impact voter turnout.
Holness said this demands that there is balance and responsibility.
“It has to be about ensuring that we keep people safe and we balance the economy,” he said.
Some 1,913,410 persons are on the July 31 voters’ list, up from 1,824,410 in the February 2016 election, in which Holness’ JLP registered a shock one-seat win over the PNP, which was led by Portia Simpson Miller.
The PNP has since placed the mantle of leadership in the hands of Dr Peter Phillip, who has trailed Holness in every opinion poll since taking over the party.
However, the Comrades appear confident that they can secure victory, pointing to governance issues such as corruption and high crime as failures of the Holness administration.
