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28 (of the 30) seats in the Chief Pleas | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The location of the Bailiwick of Guernsey which includes Sark |
General elections were held in Sark on 10 December 2008, the first elections on the island.
Fifty-seven candidates [1] (12% of the eligible electors) stood for 28 seats in the Chief Pleas. The elected members in the new Chief Pleas were titled Conseillers and replaced the mixed system of elected People's Deputies and ex officio Tenants in the outgoing Chief Pleas. The President of the Chief Pleas continued to be the Seneschal, whose term was extended from three years to life. The Conseillers elected in 2008 served either four or two-year terms. 14 Conseillers elected for two-year terms served until the 2010 election, held in December 2010; while the remainder served four years terms, thus achieving a rolling election cycle. The selection of which Conseillers elected in 2008 were to serve a two-year term or a four-year term was determined by random ballot. [2]
A recount took place on 11 December due to the closeness of the votes for the 28th seat. [3]
On 16 January and 21 February 2008, the Chief Pleas approved a law which introduced a 30-member chamber, with 28 elected members and two unelected members. On 9 April 2008 the Privy Council approved the Sark law reforms, [4] and the new chamber convened for the first time on 21 January 2009. [5] [6] [7]
The first election held in Sark under the new system took place on 10 December 2008. In total, 28 Conseillers were to be elected via plurality block voting from 57 candidates, with the latter figure representing about 12% of the electorate in the island. [8] A recount was ordered as several of the candidates for the last seat were separated by only a few votes. [9]
The elections reflected the division throughout the island between those who supported the traditional system and those who supported further reforms. [10] The overwhelming majority of candidates who were elected had either previously voted in Chief Pleas to enact the 2008 Reform Law, or had made public statements in support of it, and since advocated the further dismantling of the feudal system via the reform of the ancient feudal land tenure laws.
Results from the second count were: [11] [12]
Position | Candidate | Votes | Years |
---|---|---|---|
1 | David Thomas Cocksedge | 336 | 2 |
2 | Rossford John de Carteret | 318 | 4 |
3 | Helen Mildred Plummer | 302 | 2 |
4 | David Woods Melling | 284 | 2 |
5 | Helen Clair Magell | 282 | 4 |
6 | Christopher Howard Bateson | 280 | 2 |
7 | Antony Dunks | 270 | 4 |
8 | Stephen Laurence Henry | 266 | 4 |
9 | David Pollard | 263 | 4 |
9 | Andrew Charles Prevel | 263 | 4 |
11 | Elizabeth Mary Dewe | 253 | 4 |
11 | Sandra Williams | 253 | 4 |
13 | Edric Baker | 249 | 2 |
14 | Paul Williams | 242 | 4 |
15 | Diane Baker | 233 | 2 |
16 | Paul Martin Armorgie | 230 | 4 |
17 | Andrew James Cook | 228 | 4 |
18 | Richard James Dewe | 227 | 2 |
18 | Charles Noel Donald Maitland | 227 | 4 |
20 | Michelle Andrée Perrée | 224 | 2 |
21 | Christopher Robert Nightingale | 215 | 2 |
22 | Janet Mary Guy | 212 | 2 |
22 | John Edward Hunt | 212 | 2 |
24 | Anthony Granville Ventress | 201 | 2 |
25 | Stefan Bernd Gomoll | 200 | 2 |
26 | Ann Atkinson | 199 | 4 |
27 | Christine Dorothy Audrain | 185 | 4 |
28 | Peter John Cole | 184 | 2 |
29 | Philip James Carré | 179 | |
30 | Tony Eric le Lievre | 178 | |
31 | William George Raymond | 169 | |
32 | Peter Blayney Stisted | 169 | |
33 | Bertha Helen Cole | 165 | |
34 | Simon Peter Elmont | 147 | |
35 | Bernard John Southern | 136 | |
36 | Kevin Patrick Delaney | 131 | |
37 | Peter Francis Luce Tonks | 123 | |
38 | Simon Ashley Couldridge | 122 | |
39 | John Trevor Greer Donnelly | 118 | |
40 | Paul David Mitchell Burgess | 117 | |
41 | Roger Ian Wynne Kemp | 106 | |
42 | Colin Francis John Guille | 104 | |
43 | Belinda Doyle | 96 | |
44 | Michael Joseph Doyle | 93 | |
45 | Mini McCusker | 91 | |
45 | Natalie Tighe | 91 | |
47 | Fiona Ann Bird | 90 | |
48 | Cheryl Mary Tonks | 85 | |
49 | Natalie Alexandra Criak | 82 | |
50 | Daniel Walter Robert Parsons | 75 | |
51 | David John Bird | 74 | |
52 | Kevin Laws | 70 | |
53 | Kaye Jin Mee Char | 59 | |
54 | Jamie Karl John Swanson | 50 | |
55 | Leigh Dianne Gibbins | 45 | |
56 | Susan Christine Strachey | 43 | |
57 | Javie John Dance | 14 |
After the results of the ballot were declared, a separate ballot was held among the 28 successful Conseillers to determine which would serve for two years, and which for four years, which is indicated by the figure after the number of votes. Since the initial period, Conseillers have served four-year terms with half elected every two years. [13]
When it became apparent that only about five candidates they had supported had been elected, the Barclay brothers announced that they were shutting down their businesses on Sark – hotels, shops, estate agents and building firms – leaving about 100 people, or a sixth of the population, out of work. [14] [15] The closures started almost immediately following the announcement. [16] Diana Beaumont, the wife of Seigneur John Michael Beaumont, commented that "[the Barclay brothers] were the ones that started all this democracy business, now they don’t like it because they haven't won." [17] The States of Jersey, sitting in session on 12 December 2008, resolved to send a message of support to its sister island of Sark. [18]
In January 2009, the Barclays quietly began reversing the shutdown process. [19]
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.
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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.
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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.