Election observers saw 'amazing sense of civic duty'

Those who ran last week's Isle of Man general election showed an "amazing sense of civic duty", the head of a team of observers has said.

Deputy Chris Blinn, from Guernsey, led the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association British Islands and Mediterranean Region (CPA BIMR) observation mission for Thursday's House of Keys election.

The team of 10 spoke to key groups involved, attended hustings meetings and were present at polling stations and counts.

Blinn said the "non-governmental, non-political" mission had witnessed a "very well-handled" election.

The poll to elect 24 new MHKs in the island's 12 constituencies saw 15 new members selected, with nine of the previous administration's cohort being returned to office.

Blinn said the 10-day mission had been to look at "all aspects" to ensure that "the process of the election is complying with international standards and with Isle of Man laws".

He said: "The first thing I can say I have seen is an amazing sense of civic duty, just watching the election process, the serious approach that everyone has in ensuring everything is done correctly.

"It has just been really amazing and the amount of input from everybody to make sure it works, the people counting on the day which are very often the people from the polling stations as well.

"So overall, what we see from all that is that it's been very well-handled, very well-aligned."

The first time the CPA was invited to observe a House of Keys election was in 2021, where the team recommended, among other things, improvements to polling station accessibility.

Blinn said steps had been taken to address this by changing rules on polling stations and using technology to check people off the electoral register as they voted.

"iPads [were] a really interesting addition, which meant that people could vote within the constituency from different polling stations," he said, "so helping people with maybe certain disabilities, making it easier for them to access the right place."

Stressing the benefits of the observation missions, he said: "The elections take place every five years and there is a big gap in between.

"It is a good process to ensure compliance and fairness and at the same time to take on board any comments or elements that are needed to consider."

The team's preliminary statement will be published later, with a fuller report due to be released further into the autumn.

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