Elections In Guernsey
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Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...
elects a
legislature A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...
at the national level. The islands of
Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...
and
Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...
also elect their own parliaments.


Guernsey

The Guernsey legislature, the
States of Deliberation The States of Guernsey (), officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the ...
, consists of 38 elected members (known as Deputies) and two representatives of Alderney, with the Bailiff (or his Deputy) acting as Presiding Officer with neither a casting nor original vote. In addition the Law Officers of the Crown are members of the States of Deliberation but they may not vote and by convention only address the assembly when answering questions or offering legal advice on matters under debate. Guernsey is a state in which
political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
have not historically played an important role. Islanders also vote for their Parish officials. Voters are eligible to be inscribed on the electoral roll of Guernsey if they are: *15 or over (being able to vote from the age 16); *have been resident in Guernsey for 5 years (with or without breaks) or 2 years continuously; *are ordinarily resident in Guernsey; *are not subject to a legal disability.


Guernsey States of Deliberation elections

Held every 4 years. The Guernsey
States of Deliberation The States of Guernsey (), officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the ...
consists of 38 elected members (known as Deputies) and two representatives of Alderney, with the Bailiff (or his Deputy) acting as Presiding Officer with neither a casting nor original vote. Prior to 2016, the number of elected members was 45+2. In 2020 voting moved to an island-wide system; prior to that there were seven election districts from 2004. Deputies are elected from a single island-wide constituency by
plurality-at-large voting Plurality block voting is a type of block voting method for multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of seats to be filled. The candidates with the most votes are elected. The usual result when the candidates div ...
, with voters being able to cast up to 38 votes.


Political parties

A free association of persons wishing to support or endorse a candidate for election must register their party with the Guernsey
Greffier In some countries using (or formerly using) French as the language of the legal system, a greffier is the clerk to a legislature or to a court. The word greffe refers to the records kept by the greffier or to the department of government under th ...
. Guernsey political parties include: * Alliance Party Guernsey * The Guernsey Party *
Forward Guernsey Forward Guernsey is a political party in Guernsey launched on 11 April 2025. The party was created as an electoral vehicle to contest the 2025 Guernsey general election, adopting the manifesto developed by the separate Future Guernsey policy mo ...


Administrative divisions – Parishes

Each parish in Guernsey is administered by a Douzaine. Douzeniers are elected for a six-year mandate, two Douzeniers being elected by parishioners at a Parish Meeting in November each year. The senior Douzenier is known as the Doyen. Two elected
Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
s carry out the decisions of the Douzaine, serving for between one and three years. The longest serving Constable is known as the Senior Constable and his or her colleague as the Junior Constable. Each Douzaine nominates between one and nine of their number (depending upon the population in the parish) (34 in total) to represent their parish in the States of Election for a new
Jurat The ''jurats'' () are lay people in Guernsey and Jersey who act as judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licensing. In Alderney, however, the jurats are judges of both fact and law (assisted by thei ...
.


Alderney

Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...
elects its own parliament, as well as two representatives to the bailiwick assembly. States Members hold office for four years and in alternate years there is an "Ordinary Election" at which five of the sitting members may offer themselves for re-election. The
President of the States of Alderney The President of the States of Alderney, also known as the President of Alderney, is the elected head of Alderney's legislature, the States of Alderney and the Leader of Alderney. The Presidency is the latest of a variety of political positions ...
is elected for a four-year term of office.


Sark

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...
elects its own parliament. Voters are eligible to be inscribed on the electoral roll of Sark if they are: *15 or over (being able to vote from the age 16); *have been ordinarily resident in Sark for 24 months since the age of 13; *are ordinarily resident in Sark; *are not subject to a legal disability.


See also

*
Electoral calendar This national electoral calendar for 2025 lists the national/ federal elections scheduled to be held in 2025 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referenda are included. Specific d ...
*
Electoral system An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...
*
Politics of Guernsey Politics of the Bailiwick of Guernsey take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Crown dependency. The Bailiwick of Guernsey has an unwritten constitution arising from the Treaty of Paris (1259). When Henr ...
*
2012 Guernsey general election The 2012 Guernsey general election was held on 18 April 2012 to elect 45 members of the States of Guernsey. 78 candidates stood for the 45 seats. A total of 29,745 people, or about two-thirds of the population of Guernsey and Herm, registered t ...
*
2016 Guernsey general election The 2016 Guernsey general election was held on 27 April 2016 to elect 38 members of the States of Guernsey who will serve until 2020. There was a by-election in October 2016 to fill a vacancy in the district of Vale. Electoral system Followin ...
*
2020 Guernsey general election The 2020 Guernsey general election took place on 7 October 2020 to elect 38 members of the States of Guernsey. Originally scheduled to be held in June 2020, it was delayed a year to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic before being brought forward ...


External links


THE REFORM (GUERNSEY) LAW, 1948, as amended

Deputies from 2004

St Peter Port Deputies 1947 to 2004


References

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