The Jamaica United Front was a small right-wing political party in Jamaica.

In 1980 the party proposed a national unity government of the Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party.[1] Party leader Charles Johnson, who had been a member of the United States Army, serving in Vietnam and was running a security company in Kingston,[1] was subsequently involved in an attempted coup on 23 June 1980.[2] The coup was seen by the left as a plot by the CIA. Meanwhile, the Jamaican Labour Party (which had not been involved) saw it as an excuse to bring in troops from Cuba prior to elections.[3] Johnson was acquitted in 1981 when a witness was judged to be unreliable.[4]

The party contested one seat in the 1983 Jamaican general election. The elections that year saw a mass boycott (turnout was just 3%)[5] as the People's National Party protested against the government. The JUF received only 144 votes and failed to win a seat.[5] It did not contest any further elections.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Jamaica's Military and Police Meet to Discuss 'Conspiracy'
  2. ^ The quest for security in the Caribbean, p136
  3. ^ Jamaica Releases Failed Coup Plot Details
  4. ^ Political Parties of the Caribbean, 1980s to 1990s
  5. ^ a b c Dieter Nohlen (2005) Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I, p432–435 ISBN 978-0-19-928357-6