Senator Sarah Ferguson had brought forward plans which, if approved, would have come into effect before the end of the year and ahead of the next general election in May 2018, when current Chief Minister Ian Gorst’s second term concludes.
However, States Members overwhelmingly rejected limiting a Chief Minister to two terms.
Senator Ferguson argued that most senior positions in business were limited to two terms of office and recent advice from the Jersey Appointments Commission had suggested that senior board members on States bodies should not be reappointed more than once.
She added that her proposal was not a personal indictment of Senator Gorst.
She said that had British Prime Ministers such as Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair been restricted to two terms their legacies might be better remembered and that senior politicians risked burnout if they served at the top for too long.
The proposition was rejected by 29 votes to ten.
