Attendees at a monthly business networking event have taken part in a ballot to determine which election candidates should address their meeting this week, resulting in an all-male panel of speakers.
Jersey Chamber of Commerce canvassed opinion from ticket-holders for its May lunch at the Radisson Blu in St Helier, with all those eligible being able to vote for five of the 17 candidates for the Island-wide role of Senator.
The quintet chosen for the event were selected using a weighted system with voters’ first picks getting five votes, dropping to one point for a candidate selected as fifth choice.
Votes were cast by 95 of the 204 attendees for the event, equating to a turnout of 47% – slightly higher than the average turnout figure across the island at elections over the past 30 years of 44%.
Three of those to have served in government during the last political term were selected towards the top of the list: Health Minister Tom Binet ranked first as he amassed 179 points, Chief Minister Lyndon Farnham third with 148 points, and External Relations Minister Ian Gorst ranked fourth after accruing 131 points.
Former Treasury Minister Alan Maclean was just a point behind Deputy Gorst in fifth, while the runner-up was Sir Mark Boleat, former political lead for the City of London, with 158 points.
Four current ministers – Deputies Sam Mézec (Housing), Elaine Millar (Treasury), Steve Luce (Environment) and Mary Le Hegarat (Home Affairs) finished outside the top five in seventh, eighth, 12th and 14th positions respectively.
When votes are counted after the actual election on 7 June, the top nine of the 17 candidates will be elected as Senators.
In an email to candidates, Chamber Chief Executive Murray Norton acknowledged what he described as “the obvious gender imbalance”, with none of the four female candidates – Deputy Helen Miles being the other woman to have put herself forward and gaining ninth position – achieving sufficient votes to gain a place on the bill for the lunch.
“It is noticeable that there are no women within the top five selected candidates,” he said.
“However, Jersey Chamber had to adhere to the outcome of the vote as cast by ticket holders – with only four female candidates standing within a field of 17, there was always the possibility that gender balance may not naturally emerge within a five-person panel selected in this way.”
Mr Norton said the results gave “an interesting snapshot of business sentiment at this stage of the campaign”, but also warned against making comparisons with the election itself.
“One is a Chamber lunch hustings event for around 220 people, while the other is an island-wide public election involving many thousands of voters,” he said.
Tickets for the lunch cost £36 for individual Chamber members or £48 for non-members, with corporate tables of ten priced at £480 and £580 respectively.
Full results of Chamber of Commerce survey:
Tom Binet – 179 points
Sir Mark Boleat – 158 points
Lyndon Farnham – 148 points
Ian Gorst – 131 points
Alan Maclean – 130 points
Serena Kersten – 121 points
Sam Mézec – 113 points
Elaine Millar – 83 points
Helen Miles – 70 points
Bernard Place – 45 points
Martin Aliga – 40 points
Steve Luce – 28 points
Alan Le Pavoux – 27 points
Mary Le Hegarat – 27 points
Karl Busch – 18 points
Guy de Faye – 17 points
Alan Breckon – 15 points
A total of 204 ticket-holders for the Chamber lunch were invited to vote, with 95 attendees (47%) choosing to take part.
The survey used a weighted “Borda” count system, with every voter’s first choice receiving five points, second choice four points, third choice three points etc.
