69 candidates step forward

SIXTY-NINE candidates were put forward for the States at parish halls around the Island on Wednesday nght.

The 2011 elections are now fully under way, and in just over a month Islanders will have to pick from 61 candidates for 26 Deputies’ seats, and from eight candidates for four Constables’.

At nomination meetings in all 12 parishes, 11 States Members were returned unopposed for a further three-year term – three Deputies and eight Constables.

The move to a single election day – Wednesday 19 October – adds a new dimension to the 2011 election with the promise of a higher turnout around the Island. And the growing dissatisfaction with the inhabitants of the States Chamber could also add an extra ingredient – almost 80% of respondents to a major JEP survey this year were unsatisfied with the States and felt that they had failed to grapple with major issues like immigration and development.
(from JEP)