Turnout fears as 'not much noise' on by-election

Concerns have been raised about how much promotion Guernsey's upcoming by-election has been given by the government.

Polls open on 29 April for one seat at the States with 11 candidates - Luke Graham, Rob Harnish, Sam Haskins, Julie-Anne Headington (Forward Guernsey), Ross Le Brun, Carl Meerveld, Tamara Menteshvili, Stephen Rouxel, Nikki Symons, Andy Taylor and Jonathan Wilson - vying for votes.

But political pundits in the island said they do not think enough of a "buzz" has been created around the by-election and believe it would lead to a low turnout.

The States said it had published regular information about the by-election since February and would continue doing so up until polls open.

Michelle Le Clerc, former President of Employment and Social Security, said she ended up having to do her own research into the candidates as the level of information available was low.

"It feels like it's not even warmed up yet," she said.

"Is it going to be a mad rush at the end? I think it will have to be because there's not even the conversation going on."

She predicted a low turnout for the by-election due to its lack of promotion and interest.

"I think it will be disappointing and I think there will be people who say 'what's the point?' because it's another costly election," Le Clerc said.

Businessman David Piesing said there had been a blase attitude around the by-election.

"I'm not hearing much noise around it," Piesing added.

"I think a lot of people are not convinced we really needed the election."

Matt Fallaize, senior reporter at the Guernsey Press, said he thought the States was trying to "pull away" from having any more hands on organising election than it needed to.

Nick Mann, from independent media outlet The Quarry, said there could be more done to promote the election, but felt the States had "cut back so much" it had failed to engage the public.

He said: "It was very noticeable very early on that we didn't have a lot to go on and that's really poor.

"When you look at the States' official website, you'll see there's candidates missing and that to me just feels like madness just two weeks away from the election."

Polls open for the by-election at 08:00 BST on 29 April and close 12 hours later.

Counting is set to start immediately at the David Ferguson Hall in Beau Sejour after polls close with officials estimating a result will be announced before midnight.

Colette Falla, registrar-general of electors, said the States had made every effort to deliver a cost-effective election with information being provided throughout the process.

"We offered all candidates the opportunity to publish their manifestos on the by-election website and have promoted them on social media, to encourage potential voters to read them," she said.

Falla said the government had sought to encourage younger voters by engaging with States-maintained secondary schools and the island's sixth form centre.

She said the States had supported hustings events and ensured these would be live-streamed.

"Information is certainly readily accessible in respect of the forthcoming by-election," she said.

With the very people who ratified this by-election expressing concerns about the £75,000 cost of this poll, it is somewhat understandable that members of the public are also running cold.

The proximity to last year's general election also will not help with many people telling me they have already had their say and there's no need to again.

Add to that there is a general assumption that unless something has seriously gone wrong, things are running well.

So if the island's States has managed for months with 37 deputies, why can't it for another three years and save taxpayers £150,000, at a time when tax increases are on the way?

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