Election buzz is just about to get noisy
THE weeks are ticking away. Just two months remain before the island transforms its electoral system. And yet all is quiet.
Just one party has registered. Potential candidates are still mulling over their options. Should they bond together in a group? Should they stand as an independent? Should they stand at all?
While public noise is on mute islanders can be certain that in cafes, bars and homes across the land potential deputies and their supporters have been gathering, readying themselves for the off.
Nomination forms are to be released soon, which may liven up proceedings. If there are to be more official ‘parties’ then they will need to come forward soon to be registered and build some crucial momentum for Wednesday 7 October.
Candidates are hampered, of course, by an almost complete absence of understanding of what is to come. Even seasoned political watchers have little idea how the great island-wide voting experiment will work in practice.
The States has finally delivered on its promise of more information to help prepare potential candidates – but it remains a step into the dark.
It seems there will be no official hustings. No opportunity for the intimate grilling offered by the seven-district system. No chance to see how the candidates react under pressure. Instead there is a vague promise of ‘meet the candidate’ events.
And even if they started now, with 65 days to go, no wannabe deputy could get to all the island’s doorsteps with the electoral roll still open.
That, at least, is one area where islanders can get involved. Sign up to vote. You have less than three weeks to do so.
The switch to island-wide voting was supposed to invigorate and excite the electorate. Those who felt disenfranchised by having a handful of district candidates to choose from now risk being overwhelmed by information in a few short weeks.
With the postponed election and the distractions of Covid-19, the election buzz is hard to discern.
The next few weeks will change all that. If the island is to bounce back from the pandemic and thrive again it will be this Assembly of deputies who make that happen.
Every single islander has a stake in that.