Members voted for heavy modernisation of the Island’s voting system by the next general election in 2022, which will see the Senators removed from office and 37 Deputies elected from nine super-constituencies returning three to five representatives each.
John Henwood, the former head of Channel TV and a member of the Clothier panel that reviewed Jersey’s machinery of government in 2001, welcomed the move and said that the Island is ‘inching’ towards the right electoral system.
The Clothier Report recommended that there should only be one type of States Member and that both the Senators and Constables should no longer sit in the Assembly.
And Mr Henwood urged States Members not to allow the proposed reforms to stall when it comes to voting to approve the laws that bring them into effect.
‘The decision of the Assembly was by a significant majority,’ he said.
‘If the will of the States was denied in this matter it would demonstrate beyond any doubt Jersey’s inability to deal with the issue of electoral reform and accelerate demands for another external body, for instance a Privy Council Commission.’
Mr Henwood said that he believed that the reforms would lead to better voter participation at the next general election but felt that this impact would be short-lived
He added that other reforms were needed to address the issue of civic engagements.
‘I dare say the 2022 election will see an improved turnout, just as the recent Guernsey election did and to a lesser extent the 2005 election here,’ he said.
‘The more important question is, will an increased turnout be sustained into future elections? I very much doubt it. The poor turnouts of recent years are the result of a number of factors leading to a disconnection between the people of Jersey and their government. Better choice of representation will improve voter engagement.
‘One key Clothier recommendation which has consistently been overlooked is that of an independent electoral commissioner. Creating a commission would take all the personal issues out of the equation and give the electorate the confidence that political self-interest was no longer the controlling factor.’
Mr Henwood said that he believes that the ‘next incremental step’ in electoral reform would be the Constables losing their automatic right to sit in the Assembly.
‘I have not heard a good argument as to why a parish Constable should not sit in the States, so long as he or she is also elected as a Deputy,’ he said.
‘Those who predict the end of the honorary system if Constables lose their ex-officio [right-to-sit] seat are simply wrong.
‘Indeed, there is a strong argument to suggest that the role of the Constable and the parish in Island life would be strengthened if Constables were to concentrate on parish issues instead of being involved and distracted by wider responsibilities.’
He added: ‘Successive reform attempts have gone about the Constables issue the wrong way. Constables are never going to vote themselves out of an automatic seat in the States – self-interest will see to that.
‘However, a proposal to end their role set for some future date, say eight or 12 years from the 2022 election, would mean all 12 of those voting would see themselves safely in retirement by then and so less inclined to oppose the move.’
