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| Politics of Jersey |
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Local government |
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Elections in Jersey take place for theStates Assembly and atparish-level. Variousparties have been formed over the years in Jersey, but few candidates stand for electionaffiliated to any political party. All elections in Jersey use thefirst-past-the-post voting system. In 2008, thevoting age was reduced to 16 years.[1]
Jersey elects alegislature. From November 2011, theStates Assembly has 51 elected members: 10 Senators (elected on an island-wide basis), 29 Deputies (elected in single- and multi-seatconstituencies) and 12Connétables (heads of theparishes).[2]
The normal term of office for elected States Members is four years, though members elected in October 2011 and October 2014 will serve for shorter periods. Since 2018, elections have been held in May every fourth year.[3]
The office of Senator was created in 1948. In the early years of Senatorial elections since 1948, parish loyalties meant that votes would swing around the candidates, withSaint Helier - the largest and last parish to declare - often deciding the election. Since the 1980s, parish loyalties to local candidates have faded in favor of Islandwide issues and it is usual for the pattern of winning candidates to be clear from the first declarations, with "Town" voters in St Helier only likely to decide the last-placed candidate. Initially, Senators served terms of nine years, but this was reduced to six years in 1966 and to four years in 2011.[4]
The number of Senators has been reduced to eight in the October 2014 elections.[2] As part of the transitional arrangements for this new electoral system, the six Senators elected for six-year terms in2008 did not face election in 2011.[5]
Up to the 2008 elections, six of the 12 Senatorial seats feel vacant every three years in elections held in October. Deputies had three-year terms, with elections held in November. Defeated Senatorial candidates were therefore able to stand in the following Deputorial elections. It was not uncommon for an incumbent Senator denied re-election by the Island electorate to seek a refreshed mandate in their own parish. A number of prospective candidates for Deputy used the preceding Senatorials as adry run to either raise their public profile or, in the absence of a strong tie to one particular parish, to see which Deputorial constituency gave them the highest Senatorial vote. There was no uniform date for Connétable elections.
To be nominated for Senator, a candidate must secure a nomination paper signed by 10 validly registered voters, including a proposer and seconder. The proposer and seconder must attend in person the Electoral Assembly ("nomination meeting") held at the Parish Hall of St Helier, presided over by theComité des Connétables, and the proposer must read out publicly the nomination form, including the candidate's declaration of criminal convictions (or of no criminal convictions).[6]
If more candidates are nominated than there are seats available, a poll is declared, to be taken on the date set by the Royal Court. If there are no more candidates nominated after 20 minutes than available seats, then the candidates are declared elected unopposed and no poll is taken. TheRoyal Court appoints anautorisé for each constituency to oversee the poll (usually, but not exclusively, aJurat or Crown Officer). Results for each parish on polling day are declared by theautorisé.
In theOctober 2011 elections, four senatorial seats were contested, each voter having a maximum of four unranked votes in afirst past the postbloc voting system (multi-member plurality system). In the October 2014 elections, each voter had eight unranked votes for Senator.
The procedure for nomination for Deputy follows the same pattern as for the Senatorials, except that the nomination paper must be signed by 10 voters, including proposer and seconder, validly registered in the constituency in which they intend standing (for a Senatorial election, the constituency is one all-Island constituency). The proposer and seconder must attend in person the Electoral Assembly ("nomination meeting") presided by theConstable (or Chef de Police orProcureur du Bien Public) of the respective parish held at the respective parish's parish hall (Public Hall in the case ofSt. Martin) or other place as may be specified.[6]
In the case of parishes divided into more than one electoral district, nominations are accepted at the Electoral Assembly by district, nominations for each district having to last at least 20 minutes. (see articles on individual parishes for electoral districts)
In single-member districts, a simple first past the post election is held. In multi-member districts, the system is that of a first past the post bloc election analogous to the Senatorials.
For senators:
For deputies:
Thefirst local election on the island was a one-off event in 1940. The electedConnétable (or "Constable") heads the administration of each of the twelve parishes.
Procureurs du Bien Public andCenteniers are elected under the same rules asSenators,Deputies andConstables.
Centeniers,Vingteniers andConstable's Officers, collectively theHonorary Police are elected by aParish assembly along with members of theRoads Committee andRoads Inspectors and must take an oath of office before theRoyal Court.
Other municipal officials are also elected by anAssembly of Electors but are not subject to an oath of office.
Changes to the Voting Law meant that all elections for the position ofProcureur du Bien Public and Centenier now follow the rule applied to elections to the States of Jersey.[8] Since such elections are generally uncontested the following list details contested elections only. A full list of people elected to Parish Municipalities can be found atList of politicians in Jersey.
Constable elections are normally for a period of three years. From 2008, all Constables will be elected on a single day, all terms will be cut short to allow for this[9] Thus all elections in 2006 and 2007 are for a period until that date.
Those eligible to vote at a public election[10] (for Senators, Deputies, Constables, Procureurs du Bien Public and Centeniers) are those whose names are included on the electoral register for the relevant electoral district (the register is compiled byvingtaine).
Those entitled to register must be
and either
The right to vote is determined by residency, not citizenship, and therefore citizens of any state may vote in Jersey elections provided they fulfill the other requirements for electoral registration.
On 4 July 2007, the States of Jersey voted to reducevoting age to 16. The law was brought into force on 12 March 2008, with effect from 1 April 2008, allowing 16- and 17-year-old voters to register in time for the 2008 elections.[12]
Those entitled to vote at elections other than public elections are electors, ratepayers and mandataires.
The first public election bysecret ballot was held on 1 December 1891, following the passing of the law providing for secret ballots on 26 January 1891. Secret ballots are not required for other elections (at Parish Assemblies) and may be conducted by show of hands, although such elections may be conducted by means of secret ballot.
Since the 1948 constitutional reforms,Jurats are elected byelectoral college rather than by Islandwide vote.
| General elections | |
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| Connétable elections | |
| By-elections | |
| Other elections | |
| Referendums | |
