The by-election which saw Deputy Ross Le Brun finally elected to the States on his fourth attempt would not have gone ahead under new proposals.
Deputy Le Brun has been working hard since his election in April, asking a series of questions about transport and other issues he campaigned on – to the annoyance of some of his new colleagues.
However, several deputies are now trying to change the rules, so at least two seats would need to be free to trigger a by-election.
If they get their way, it could become far less likely for new deputies to be elected in the middle of a political term.
Policy and Resources (P&R) Vice President Deputy Yvonne Burford was one of seven deputies to propose the motion, which will be debated later this year.
The proposal, known as a ‘requête’, was also supported by Deputies Marc Laine, Paul Montague, Jennifer Strachan, Andrew Niles, Sasha Kazantseva-Miller and Tom Rylatt.
Under the proposed new rules, there would have to be two vacant seats to trigger a by-election.
There would also be a cut-off of the start of the October before an election year, so if seats became free after that then they’d remain unoccupied until the next general election.
Second time lucky for by-election opponents?
It’s not the first time deputies have tried to increase the number of free seats before a by-election can be called.
Last term’s States Assembly and Constitution Committee (SACC) had proposed upping the number of vacant seats to three before a by-election could be triggered, with the cost of by-elections one of the main arguments for the motion.
However, that was thrown out by an overwhelming majority last year, by the new States.
The current SACC President, Deputy Sarah Hansmann Rouxel, argued at the time that we shouldn’t “erode fundamental democratic rights to make it fit our budget”.
“Once we start adjusting the rules of representation based on our convenience, or cost, we open the door to further erosion,” she warned.
“Today three vacancies, tomorrow perhaps we say we don’t hold by-elections at all, or we decide certain communities are represented enough.
Representation is not optional.
Deputy Sarah Hansmann Rouxel
Low by-election turnout
Guernsey’s general election last year had a high turnout of over 72% of registered voters.
However, this plummeted to 17.32% in April’s by-election, meaning Deputy Le Brun got elected with fewer than 1,000 votes.
The fewest votes received by a candidate who got elected in 2025 was 5,458 for Deputy Hansmann Rouxel – nearly six times as many as Deputy Le Brun got in his by-election win.
The by-election cost just under £51,000, with Deputy Le Brun spending a frugal £35.68 on his campaign.
