Jamaica’s 2025 election: Nomination Day gets underway

Today, Monday, August 18, is Nomination Day in Jamaica, giving prospective candidates the opportunity to present themselves for the 2025 General Election on September 3.

Nominations are also being held for by-elections in four divisions of the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation: Chancery Hall, Olympic Gardens, Seivwright Gardens, and Denham Town.

Speaking with JIS News, Director of Elections Glasspole Brown said each of the 63 constituencies will have one nomination centre for the parliamentary elections, opening at 10:00 a.m. and closing at 2:00 p.m. By-election nominations start at 12:00 p.m. and close at 2:00 p.m.

“For the parliamentary elections, potential candidates will have to get their nomination form. Those [candidates] will have to be nominated by 10 members among the constituents who are registered on the voters list. Also, they will have to pay a nomination fee of $15,000,” Brown said. For the by-elections, the nomination fee is $3,000.

He added that returning officers met with potential candidates prior to Nomination Day to schedule their visits to the nomination centres and review eligibility requirements. “What we seek to do is to have all potential candidates meet with their returning officer prior to Nomination Day. The returning officer will then carry them through all the criteria that are necessary for them to meet, so that they can know before the Nomination Day whether or not they are qualified to run as a candidate,” he explained.

Candidates seeking a seat in the House of Representatives must be Jamaican citizens or Commonwealth citizens who have resided in Jamaica for at least 12 months prior to the nomination date and be at least 21 years old.

By-election candidates must have lived in their division for at least 12 months before Election Day and must not have contractual agreements with local authority members involving money or land.

A candidate will not be eligible to be elected if he/she is under age 18, holds a public office, is a member of the Jamaica Defence Force, or has been declared bankrupt.