KINGSTON, Jamaica, Sept 4, (AP): Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness secured a third term early Thursday following a tight race on an island shaken by corruption, inequity and economic concerns. Preliminary results showed that Holness’ Jamaica Labor Party won at least 34 seats, while Mark Golding’s opposition People’s National Party secured at least 29 seats.

Golding conceded the election in a brief speech, saying he was disappointed in the outcome as he acknowledged the success of his opponent. "This is not an easy speech to make,” he said. Also participating in Wednesday’s general elections were the Jamaica Progressive Party, the United Independents’ Congress and nine independent candidates seeking a seat in various constituencies.

Official voter turnout was just 38.8%, only slightly higher than the turnout for the 2020 elections during the pandemic. Just over 2 million registered voters are eligible to cast their ballots on the island of 2.8 million people. A total of 63 seats are up for grabs in Jamaica’s House of Representatives. The leader of the party that wins a majority becomes the island’s next prime minister.

The new leader will then appoint 13 of 21 senators to Jamaica’s upper chamber of Parliament, and the opposition will choose eight others. Under Holness, Jamaica has seen a 43% drop in killings so far this year, marking the most significant decline in decades. The improvement is largely credited to the current administration’s increase in firearm seizures and a stronger, coordinated security force presence across the Caribbean island.

The Jamaica Labor Party campaigned on this tangible success, positioning itself as the government that pulled the island back from the brink of widespread violence. While crime statistics have improved, the shadow of Jamaica’s violent past still lingers. The measures taken by the current government, including implementing states of emergency in certain areas, have drawn both support and criticism.

The private sector and many Jamaicans have praised the effectiveness of such measures, with the number of killings dropping by as much as 70% in some regions, like the tourist parish of St. James. However, human rights organizations have raised concerns about the use and potential abuse of such measures, highlighting alleged illegal detentions, as they call for balanced approaches to protect security and civil liberties.