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BBC NEWS | World | Americas | 'Poll win' for Jamaica opposition
'Poll win' for Jamaica opposition
JLP leader Bruce Golding called for an orderly transition of power
Jamaica's opposition Labour Party (JLP) has won the general election, ending an 18-year reign by the People's National Party (PNP), preliminary results show.
The JLP, led by Bruce Golding, has taken 31 out of the 60 seats in parliament, election officials said.
But Portia Simpson Miller, Jamaica's first woman Prime Minister, has not acknowledged defeat and indicated that the PNP would challenge the result.
Crime, poverty and high unemployment were the main issues in the campaign.
Jubilant JLP supporters took to the streets of the capital, Kingston, to celebrate their apparent win.
Hundreds gathered at the party's headquarters cheering wildly and chanting "Bruce, Bruce" as Mr Golding took to the stage to the strains of Bob Marley.
Portia Simpson Miller: Election too close to call
The JLP leader made a cautious speech, avoiding a claim of outright victory.
"However perplexing some may find the results, the fact is that the people have spoken and we of the Jamaica Labour Party, we accept and respect the decision," said Mr Golding.
"At the moment, the Jamaica Labour Party commands a majority of seats in parliament," he said.
He called for a transition of power in an orderly and peaceful manner.
But Mrs Simpson Miller, who has been in power for 18 months, said a number of races were so close that the results could change after a recount.
"The election is too close to call," she told supporters at the PNP's headquarters.
"We are conceding no victory to the Jamaica Labour Party," she said, adding that there had been reports of irregularities.
Murder rate
The narrowness of the election result and the PNP's refusal to concede presents the Jamaican electoral authorities with a big challenge, says the BBC's Orin Gordon in Kingston.
JLP supporters are already celebrating
A recount needs to proceed swiftly to end all doubts about the result, he says.
The director of elections, Danville Walker, told Reuters news agency that a recount would begin on Tuesday and that the process would take two to three days.
About three constituencies were "closer than razor thin", he said.
The voting itself was largely peaceful, but in the St Andrews area of Kingston shots were fired at a polling station from a car. The two main parties do not differ significantly in ideology. Analysts say voters may have been looking for a change to tackle Jamaica's deep-seated poverty, 9% unemployment and a murder rate that is among the highest in the world. The election had been scheduled for 27 August but was postponed for a week after Hurricane Dean swept through the island, causing widespread damage.