ALDERNEY has elected five new States members onto its government.
Voters went to the polls on Saturday to choose from 12 candidates who were standing for election.
Former States member Louis Jean topped the poll with 613 votes and newcomer Neil Harvey came in second with 532. Another former States member, Francis Simonet, came third with 440 votes.
The two other residents making their States debut are Robert McDowall and Christopher Rowley.
Chairman of the General Services Committee, Bill Walden, and Alderney Representative Boyd Kelly did not receive enough votes to secure a second term in government.
The announcement was made on Saturday night after three Jurats carefully tallied up and checked each of the 818 ballot papers returned. Candidates waited anxiously for the results in the Island Hall's Anne French Room for nearly three hours, some making their way out as it became clear they had not been successful.
States Chief Executive Roy Burke announced the names of the newly elected members to shouts of jubilation from their friends, family and supporters.
Turnout was high, with 73 per cent of the 1,209 people registered on the electoral roll making their way to Island Hall to cast their vote.
Afterwards Louis Jean said he had been gratified by the number of people who had shown him their support.
He said next he would be seeking to become the Alderney representative at the States of Guernsey assemble, and urged people to vote at the plebiscite on December 1st.
He said there were several issues that he hoped to be able to influence.
"The first ones are peripheral taxes and charges. My second main concern is that we've now got a new issue which has reared its head and that is depopulation and that's something we have to work very hard to stem and look at the reasons behind this evacuation.'
Neil Harvey, a former banker, retired to Alderney in 2004. He has been an active volunteer on the island, and served as commodore at the local sailing club.
He said he was hoping to just scrape in, and the support he had received had come as a surprise.
'There's been a lot of bickering within the States and people on the island realise that the States aren't really puling together. We need a cohesive States - 10 people who can have a dialogue and different opinions but at the end of the day we have to face in the same direction for the benefit of Alderney itself and to present a united front to the world outside."
The new States members will be sworn in at the beginning of January.
The Guernsey Bereavement Service has made three visits to Alderney over the past few months and would like to continue to help you. We are visiting the island again on
Tuesday, 23rd February 2024 and would invite anyone who feels they would like Bereavement Counselling to telephone the Bereavement Service Office on 257778 to make a time to meet one of our counsellors.
The Guernsey Bereavement Service has made three visits to Alderney over the past few months and would like to continue to help you. We are visiting the island again on
Tuesday, 23rd February 2024 and would invite anyone who feels they would like Bereavement Counselling to telephone the Bereavement Service Office on 257778 to make a time to meet one of our counsellors. 