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Reform Jersey leader Sam Mézec has officially thrown his hat in the ring for the island's top political job after the party doubled its number of seats in the election.
The newly elected group of Reform Jersey Deputies met for the first time this afternoon and unanimously agreed to nominate Mr Mézec for Chief Minister.
It means he'll be going up against Kristina Moore, who wants to be the island's first female Chief Minister.
Pictured: Reform's parliamentary party at their first meeting today.
She is supported by her three elected colleagues of the Better Way movement, and St. Peter Constable Richard Vibert.
Having secured the highest number of votes of any Deputy with 2,730, she told Express on Wednesday: “I think the public have really had their say - and they are saying they want change because they have not been listened to and their priorities have not been met.
“There is a lot of common ground among many of those elected and I can see a collaborative group of people working together to get Jersey back on track."
Pictured: Senator Kristina Moore, who topped the poll in her area, wishes to be Chief Minister.
The pair also face competition from former Bailiff and External Relations Minister Sir Philip Bailhache.
The Progress Party-Jersey Liberal Conservatives coalition had previously agreed to back Sir Philip Bailhache as Chief Minister.
However, the coalition only secured three seats: Sir Philip (JLC) in St. Clement, Malcolm Ferey (JLC) in St. Saviour, and Steve Luce (Progress) in Grouville and St. Martin.
Previous Chief Minister Senator Ian Gorst previously told Express he wishes to remain Minister for External Relations - a position he said he was standing by in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Previous Chief Ministerial candidate and current Deputy Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham, who scraped into the fourth seat in the western 'super-district' of St. Mary, St. Peter and St. Ouen, has not stated his intentions.
There has also been speculation that at least one newcomer will go for the top position.
Pictured: Former Chief Minister Ian Gorst upon hearing that he had been elected. (Gary Grimshaw)
The Jersey Alliance's Sir Mark Boleat had also hoped to contest the position, but he failed to be elected - the party's only successful candidate was Philip Le Sueur, who was re-elected Constable of Trinity.
"We believe that the election result clearly shows that there is widespread public support for positive change. Only Reform Jersey can provide that change," Reform Jersey said in a statement today.
It added that it would be sharing its plans to form a government on Monday, alongside its potential Government Plan, which would be based on the party's 'New Deal' manifesto.
Deputy-elect Mézec, Reform's founder, first entered the States Assembly as a St. Helier No 2 candidate in 2014, before securing an island-wide mandate as Senator in 2018.
Pictured: The Reform team celebrating their results.
In Wednesday's election, he topped the poll for St. Helier South with 955 votes, followed by Reform running mates Tom Coles and Beatriz Porée.
Deputy Montfort Tadier was re-elected in St. Brelade, while the party also made gains in St. Helier Central, where Catherine Curtis and Lyndsay Feltham joined serving Deputies Carina Alves, Geoff Southern and Rob Ward, and St. Saviour with the addition of Raluca Kovacs.
Deputy-elect Porée was the first black politician to be elected in Jersey, while Raluca Kovacs is the first Romanian.
Reflecting on the party's election performance on the night, Deputy Ward commented: "Double digits. 50:50 men and women. 20% of the States. The first woman of colour. The first Romanian.
"Reform is the true party of inclusion and diversity. Reform is the way forward."
Successful candidates have until 17:00 on Monday 27 June to nominate one of their fellow politicians for the role of Chief Minister.
The States Assembly will hold their first meeting on Tuesday 5 July to choose the Chief Minister.
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