New voting system for the States?

Tuesday 04 February 2014

States Members return to action this morning with a debate on a new voting system for this year’s elections lined up.

After the failure to agree reform proposals in last month's sitting, States Members get back to the subject in a debate to change the way that votes are counted.

Deputy Montfort Tadier wants the States to adopt a new system under which voters would rank their preferences. He says that would give fairer results, because it would mean that instead of just voting “yes or no”, voters would have the chance to make choices that more accurately reflect their preferences.

The sitting also sees a full line-up of States questions. Members have filed 22 written questions and 16 oral questions, and Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf and Education Minister Pat Ryan will each answer 15 minutes of questions without notice. There will also be a debate about the disciplinary process for the States' team of in-house lawyers.

Among the issues listed for Question Time are:

-          How many complaints have been made to the police about States Members in the last 12 months?

-          Whether the new carpark on the Esplanade will be paid for out of the £50 million “profit” from the Jersey International Finance Centre?

-          How many faults there have been with the new incinerator since it started working?

-          When will a promised study into organ donation begin?