The Isle of Man's Legislative Council explained

Members of the Legislative Council are elected by MHKs

The oldest continuous parliament in the world, Tynwald dates back more than 1,000 years and has its roots in the Viking Age.

The tri-cameral parliament is made up of the House of Keys and the Legislative Council, which as well as sitting separately in their own chambers come together as one body.

And the ancient parliament could welcome up to four new members to the Council on Tuesday as the latest round of elections to the upper chamber takes place.

An advisory body with its origins in the medieval period, its powers changed significantly during the 20th Century leaving it predominately seen as a revising chamber for new laws in modern times.

While 16 candidates were initially confirmed as having been successfully nominated to take part in the latest election, that was reduced to 15 after the formal withdrawal of Brian Holt from the contest.

The Legislative Council is made up of eleven members in total

The Council's make up sees eight MLCs chosen by members of the democratically elected House of Keys joined by the President of Tynwald, who is elected by all 32 Manx national politicians in a separate contest to preside over sittings.

The Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man is also a member with voting rights, while the Attorney General takes part in sittings but does not have a vote.

What does it do?

The council predominantly debates and votes on primary legislation, and sometimes asks and answers questions.

While much of its work involves scrutinising new legislation in its own chamber after it has passed through its stages in the House of Keys, MLCs also take part in the monthly Tynwald sittings.

Members also often take on roles within the government departments and can be chosen to serve on Tynwald scrutiny committees.

Although the majority of bills originate in the House of Keys, members of the upper chamber can bring forward proposed legislation of their own for progression.

Successful candidates will earn a basic annual salary of £71,659.

Who is eligible?

Candidates must be:

• Eighteen years of age or older

• Be a British citizen or have the right to remain on the island

• Be ordinarily resident on the island

• Not have a relevant conviction or be serving a custodial sentence for any offence

How are members elected?

The eight MLCs are elected by MHKs for a term of five years, with elections taking place in two tranches of four seats in different years to maintain and element of continuity within the Council.

The end of the term of office that triggered the latest vacancies was 28 February.

This is the first election process whereby prospective members have had to complete an application form to be considered.

It was among a raft of changes approved by Tynwald last year, following several recommendations to reform the election process by the Standing Orders Committee.

That meant candidates in the latest election were the first to be required to fill out an application from in the first instance, which had to include a curriculum vitae, followed by an applicants' conference to allow potential candidate to meet MHKs.

MLCs and MHKs come together for sittings in the Tynwald chamber

In order to stand in the election, those who applied needed a proposer, seconder and at least two other supporters from the House of Keys.

Under the rules, MHKs were only allowed to propose, second or support as many candidates are there were vacancies.

Those who cleared that hurdle, then faced MHKs in hustings on 24 February, before facing the vote on Tuesday.

Those proceedings, which take place in the House of Keys chamber, will see MHKs vote for their preferred candidates.

Those who achieve a majority of votes from the members present will be elected.

If any of the four seats remain unfilled, voting will continue with the candidate secure the lowest number of votes removed from the ballot at every round.

What happens next?

Those elected must take oaths of fidelity to King Charles III, as Lord of Man, before taking up their seats.

The President of Tynwald then welcomes the new members to the parliament and presents them with a copy of the Standing Orders of the Legislative Council.

Although ceremonies were in the past held in private, more recently have been carried out in the Legislative Council chamber for family and supporters to witness.

The first sitting of the newly formed council be in their own chamber on 11 March.

One of the first items before the new members when they meet for the first time on 11 March could be the Assisted Dying Bill 2023, which is set to return to the upper chamber after MHKs votes to make further changes to it last week.