# Saint James East Central

Saint James East Central is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Jamaican Parliament. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was first contested in the 1976 general election. The current MP is the Hon. Edmund Bartlett of the Jamaica Labour Party who has been in office since 2002.

## Boundaries

The constituency covers the Rose Hall, Somerton and Spring Mount electoral divisions in St. James.

## Demographics

According to the Jamaica Population Census of 2011, the number of persons living in the constituency was 36,689, while the number of registered voters was 24,826. As of the 2020 general election, the number of registered electors in the constituency was 29,852. This represents a 5.9% increase over the 28,178 voters registered for the 2016 general election.
Voter Distribution by Electoral Division :
| Electoral Division | Number of Polling Divisions | Number of electors |
| Rose Hall | 29 | 11,843 |
| Somerton | 30 | 8,923 |
| Spring Mount | 30 | 9,068 |
| Grand total | 89 | 29,852 |

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1976 | Herbert Eldemire | Jamaica Labour Party |
| 1980 | Winston Spaulding | Jamaica Labour Party |
| 1983 | Geoffrey Roach | Jamaica Labour Party |
| 1989 | Violet Neilson | People's National Party |
| 1993 | Violet Neilson | People's National Party |
| 1997 | Violet Neilson | People's National Party |
| 2002 | Edmund Bartlett | Jamaica Labour Party |
| 2007 | Edmund Bartlett | Jamaica Labour Party |
| 2011 | Edmund Bartlett | Jamaica Labour Party |
| 2016 | Edmund Bartlett | Jamaica Labour Party |
| 2020 | Edmund Bartlett | Jamaica Labour Party |

## Elections
### Elections from 2000 to Present

General Election 2020: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | JLP | Edmund Bartlett | 7,338 | 69.6 | 11.2 |
| | PNP | Michael Hemmings | 3,206 | 30.4 | 10.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,544 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | | |
| | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold |
General Election 2016: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | JLP | Edmund Bartlett | 7,564 | 58.4 | 8.7 |
| | PNP | Noel Donaldson | 5,292 | 40.9 | 7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,945 | 45.9 | 5.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 28,178 | | 13.5 |
| | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold |
General Election 2011: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | JLP | Edmund Bartlett | 6,382 | 49.7 | 5.5 |
| | PNP | Cedric Stewart | 6,208 | 48.3 | 4.6 |
| | Independent | Roystan Richards | 22 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 12,848 | 51.8 | 8.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 24,826 | | 1.2 |
| | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold |
General Election 2007: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | JLP | Edmund Bartlett | 8,398 | 55.2 | 0.4 |
| | PNP | Donald Colomathi | 6,637 | 43.7 | 0.6 |
| | Independent | Roystan Richards | 42 | 0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 15,205 | 60.5 | 3.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 25,130 | | 38.2 |
| | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold |
General Election 2002: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | JLP | Edmund Bartlett | 6,394 | 54.8 | 4.0 |
| | PNP | Donald Colomathi | 5,170 | 44.3 | 0.5 |
| | NDM | Carnel Cameron | 29 | 0.3 | 3.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,667 | 64.1 | 5.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 18,191 | | 10.6 |
| | JLP gain from PNP | JLP gain from PNP | JLP gain from PNP | JLP gain from PNP | JLP gain from PNP |

### Elections from 1980 to 1999

General Election 1997: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PNP | Violet Neilson | 5,851 | 50.8 | 0.8 |
| | JLP | Edmund Bartlett | 5,152 | 44.8 | 3.1 |
| | NDM | Robert Russell | 435 | 3.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,512 | 70 | 1.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 16,443 | | 28.3 |
| | PNP hold | PNP hold | PNP hold | PNP hold |
General Election 1993: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PNP | Violet Neilson | 4,545 | 51.6 | 3.3 |
| | JLP | Godfrey Dyer | 4,215 | 47.9 | 3.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,803 | 68.7 | 10.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 12,813 | | 1.9 |
| | PNP hold | PNP hold | PNP hold | PNP hold |
General Election 1989: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | PNP | Violet Neilson | 5,646 | 54.9 |
| | JLP | Godfrey Dyer | 4,598 | 44.7 | 42.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,280 | 78.8 | 47.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 13,054 | | 12.4 |
| | PNP gain from JLP | PNP gain from JLP | PNP gain from JLP | PNP gain from JLP | PNP gain from JLP |
General Election 1983: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | JLP | Geoffrey Roach | 3,202 | 86.8 | 23.5 |
| | independent (politician) | Matelan Dawkins | 445 | 12.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,689 | 31.8 | 57.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,614 | | 0.01 |
| | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold |
General Election 1980: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | JLP | Winston Spaulding | 6,583 | 63.3 | 12.1 |
| | PNP | Edgar Watson | 3,741 | 36.0 | 12.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,396 | 89.5 | 2.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 11,613 | | 7.3 |
| | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold | JLP hold |

### Elections from 1976 to 1979

General Election 1976: Saint James East Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | JLP | Herbert Eldemire | 4,796 | 51.2 |
| | PNP | Edgar Watson | 4,508 | 48.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,366 | 86.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 10,821 | |
| | JLP win (new seat) | JLP win (new seat) | JLP win (new seat) | JLP win (new seat) | JLP win (new seat) |