Since 1944, the Jamaican people, without ethnic or religious strife, civil war, military coup, one-party dictatorship, assassination of political leaders, insurgency or genocide, have voted out governments and voted in opposition parties in free and fair elections – a record in democratic governance equalled by only a handful of stated worldwide.

In Adult Suffrage and Political Administrations in Jamaica, 1944-2002, Trevor Munroe and Arnold Bertram, both active participants in this process, documents critical aspects of this record.

Key features of this publication include: the elections through which the consolidation of democracy occurred  the representatives – their gender, education, occupation, age – whom the people chose to form 13 successive governments and parliaments  the laws that the legislature passed and the institutions governments established in building a modern democratic state  advances and failures - political, economic, social and cultural – of each administration  comparison of the performances of successive administrations  the critical challenges facing the Jamaican people and the new leaders.