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With Guernsey's first referendum less than a month away, a hustings has been organised so voters can question the people campaigning for or representing each of the five options which will be listed on the ballot papers.
Wednesday 10 October will see the island's first official public opinion poll, which could lead to a drastic change in the way our island's politicians are elected.
The options include full island wide voting, a hybrid of island wide and parish deputies, fewer and larger electoral districts than we currently have and the current system of elections by district, which are loosely based on parochial boundaries.
Pictured: The five options in Guernsey's island wide voting referendum.
The hustings style meeting will follow a similar format to that seen before each of the island's elections, with questions from the floor answered by the panel.
It will be held at Beau Sejour from 19:00 on Wednesday 3 October, with a live stream on the States of Guernsey Facebook page for those who can't attend.
There will be representatives speaking on behalf of each of the five options - with the official campaign groups for options A, B and C already working to encourage support for their choice, while a volunteer will speak on behalf of options D and E which do no have official campaign groups.
They will each give a give five-minute presentation, before the question and answer session which will be led by the appointed Chairman for the hustings, Jurat Stephen Jones. Questions can be submitted in advance, asked from the audience or via the Facebook livestream. Each representative will give a closing speech at the end of the hustings
Pictured: Beau Séjour is hosting the hustings.
Deputy Roffey, President of the States’ Assembly & Constitution Committee,said, “The ‘hustings’ meeting will provide the public with the opportunity to hear representatives for each option promote the benefits of their option, to ask questions about those options and to listen to debate. Anyone unable to attend the meeting will be able to listen to the whole meeting live on BBC Radio Guernsey or watch the debate on the States of Guernsey Facebook page. I would encourage people to attend the event to learn more about each of the options in advance of the referendum”.
Pictured: Deputy Peter Roffey.
As the referendum draws closer the amount of information in the public domain has increased with leaflets being sent to every household in the island, as well as a series of hustings style events also being planned for smaller locations across Guernsey.
Deputy Roffey said, “we are stepping up our engagement with the public over the coming weeks by visiting different groups to promote the referendum. Staff supporting the referendum will be going out into the community to meet with the public and provide information about how to sign up on the Electoral Roll, how to sign up for postal votes and to explain how to vote in the referendum”.
Among the planned meetings are three with Age Concern including one yesterday and another on Thursday 20 September at 14:00 at St Stephen's Community Centre and one on Friday 28 September at 14:30 at St Martin's Parish Hall.
There will also be public drop-in sessions at the Guille Allès Library on Friday 28 September between 12:30 and 14:00 and Saturday 29 September between 09:30 and 12:00. There will also be opportunity to sign up to the Electoral Roll and to register for a postal vote at the Library. Members of the team will also continue to attend Market Square for ‘Fresh Food Fridays’ to promote the referendum.
Staff will be attending the Ron Short Centre on Tuesday 25 September between 10:30 and 11:30 and the Guernsey Disability Alliance meeting at Les Cotils at 19:00 on Wednesday 26 September. An audio version of the leaflet which was issued to all households has been recorded and is available on gov.gg/referendum and is being distributed by the Guernsey Blind Association to all subscribers.
There has also been liaison with the Committee for Education, Sport and Culture to engage with students eligible to vote in the referendum with leaflets and information provided to the College of Further Education and Elizabeth College, and staff will be attending assemblies at the Grammar School and Ladies’ College in the first week of October. An e-mail will be sent out to students at University to encourage them to sign up for postal votes so they do not miss out on the chance to take part in the Island’s first referendum.
Two familiar characters are also making a comeback, with their fictional community service providing a back drop to the referendum build up.
Len and Enid are returning to encourage people to vote in the referendum. Due to their famed rebellious nature and dislike of the States of Guernsey, they've been coerced into doing so by the courts in the latest imagined situation by those behind the popular advert characters, including Deputy Neil Inder.
The leaflet detailing the referndum and the options is available online at gov.gg/referendum. If anyone would like a printed copy, email the Lead Referendum Officer at referendum@gov.gg.
The video explaining how to vote in the referendum is available to view on the States of Guernsey YouTube channel, its Facebook and Twitter accounts and on gov.gg/referendum.
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