Politics of Guernsey take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Crown dependency.
Sark is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It has a population of about 500. Sark has an area of 2.10 square miles (5.44 km2). Little Sark is a peninsula joined by a natural but high and very narrow isthmus to the rest of Sark Island.
The Seigneur of Sark is the head of Sark in the Channel Islands. "Seigneur" is the French word for "lord", and a female head of Sark is called Dame of Sark, of which there have been three. The husband of a female ruler of Sark is not a consort but is jure uxoris a seigneur himself.
Brecqhou is one of the Channel Islands, located off the west coast of Sark where they are now geographically detached from each other. Brecqhou is politically part of both Sark and the Bailiwick of Guernsey. It has been established in the courts that Brecqhou is a tenement of Sark. The Ministry of Justice, the department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for the Channel Islands, considers Brecqhou part of Sark.
Sir David Rowat Barclay and Sir Frederick Hugh Barclay, commonly referred to as the "Barclay Brothers" or "Barclay Twins", were British billionaires. They were identical twin brothers and, until the death of David in 2021, had joint business interests primarily in media, retail and property.
Guernsey elects a legislature at the national level. The islands of Alderney and Sark also elect their own parliaments.
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 States of Guernsey also apply to Alderney and Sark as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to Herm as well as Guernsey, since Herm is directly administered by the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
The Chief Minister of Jersey is the head of government of Jersey, leading the Council of Ministers, which makes up part of the Government of Jersey. The head of government is not directly elected by the people but rather by the legislature, the States Assembly.
Since 2008, Elections in Sark take place every two years to elect 14 members of the Chief Pleas, the parliament of Sark, to serve a four-year term in a rolling election cycle.
General elections were held in Sark on 8 December 2010, the second elections held on the island under the 2008 Constitution. The elections were for 14 of the seats that had been elected in the 2008 elections, for a four-year term.
A referendum on the composition of the Chief Pleas was held in Sark between 16 August and 6 September 2006, following an informal referendum in February. Voters were given the choice of having all 28 seats elected, or to have 12 seats for Deputies, eight for tenants and eight elected by everyone.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the British Crown dependency of Guernsey have improved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual activity for both men and women is legal in Guernsey. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2 May 2017 in Guernsey, and since 14 June 2018 in its dependency, Alderney. Legislation approving the legalisation of same-sex marriage in its other dependency, Sark was given royal assent on 11 March 2020. Guernsey is the only part of the British Isles to have never enacted civil partnership legislation, though civil partnerships performed in the United Kingdom were recognised for succession purposes. Since April 2017, same-sex couples can adopt in the entire Bailiwick. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has been banned since 2004. Transgender people can legally change gender since 2007.
General elections were due to be held in Sark on 10 December 2014. However, only 16 candidates nominated for the 16 seats in the Chief Pleas, meaning that all were elected unopposed, without a public vote being required.
General elections were held in Sark on 12 December 2012 to elect half of the 28 members of the Chief Pleas. Ten conseillers were re-elected, four candidates were elected for the first time, and two sitting conseillers lost their seats.
Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples in Guernsey was passed by the States of Guernsey on 21 September 2016, and took effect on 2 May 2017. Same-sex marriage laws took effect in Alderney on 14 June 2018, and Sark on 23 April 2020.
The Sark Newspaper is a controversial small publication, distributed free to residents of the island of Sark, and published online. It is edited by Kevin Delaney, who worked for the Barclay brothers, David Rowat Barclay and Frederick Hugh Barclay, publishing magnates.
Sandra Williams is a Conseiller on Sark's Chief Pleas, the island's parliament. She was among the first elected to the reformed legislature in 2008, topped the poll in the 2012 election and was returned unopposed in 2016.
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 to its final date.
General elections were due to be held in Sark on 16 December 2020 and will serve for 4 years, until December 2024.
Indirect presidential elections were held in Myanmar on 15 March 2016, after the 2015 general election. Members of the Assembly of the Union voted for the country's President, and two Vice-Presidents.
