Election kicks off with 19 running for eight Senatorial seats

Wednesday 17 September 2014

A packed Town Hall saw 19 candidates step forward last night for the eight seats up for grabs in the Senatorial election on 15 October.

Ten sitting States Members threw their names into the hat, along with two former politicians and seven newcomers. The winners will serve a three-and-a-half year term in the States on an Island-wide mandate and are expected to be among the top contenders for the 11 ministerial posts to run States departments.

Banners and posters have already started going up around the Island, with more to follow when the candidates for 12 Constables’ seats and 29 Deputies’ places are nominated at meetings around the Island tonight.

In order of nomination, the Senatorial candidates are: Deputy Sean Power, Deputy Andrew Green, Senator Sarah Ferguson, Anne Southern (Reform Jersey), Senator Philip Ozouf, Senator Paul Routier, Dr Zoe Cameron, Senator Alan Maclean, Malcolm Ferey, Chris Magee, Deputy John Young, Senator Ian Gorst, Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, David Richardson, Senator Lyndon Farnham, Guy de Faye, Geoff Habin, Shirley Baudains and Konrad Kruszynski.

But there was no nomination for Senator Alan Breckon, who came second out of 21 candidates in 2008.

Before Trinity Constable John Le Sueur Gallichan – who is about to step down from the States after 13 years – closed the meeting, he told the candidates that there were 61,109 names on the electoral register and that the campaign spending limit would be £9,631.99.

The election might be just less than a month away – after the traditional round of hustings meetings in the 12 parishes – but it’s just a fortnight until anyone on the electoral roll can cast their votes in special pre-polling stations set up to let as many people as possible take part in the elections for Senators, Constables and Deputies and the referendum on the Constables.

A special pre-poll station will be open for voters in any district between Wednesday 1 October and Monday 13th October at St Paul’s Centre in town. The station will be open every weekday from 8 am to 6 pm.

A one-off pre-polling station will also be at Communicare in St Brelade on Saturday 4 October from 9 am to 2 pm, with another one-off pre-polling station will be open at Trinity Youth Centre on Saturday 11 October from 9 am to 2 pm.