Lack of candidates leads to Sark election cancellation

Only five candidates will fill the nine vacancies for Chief Pleas

Sark will not hold a General Election this December, Chief Pleas confirmed.

The Isles of Sark government announced only five candidates had put themselves forward to fill the nine vacancies available on Chief Pleas.

The election was set to take place on Wednesday 14th December but a by-election will now be held in March 2023 to fill the four vacant seats.

Returning Officer Reg Guille said he was "disappointed" with the lack of candidates.

Since 2018, there have been five uncontested by-elections and one uncontested General Election.

Analysis by BBC Guernsey Political Reporter John Fernandez

The Bailiwick has a problem.

Not one, but two of its constituent islands have failed to get enough candidates for a General Election and there's no sign that future attempts to raise more candidates will be more successful.

The question now for both Alderney and Sark's governments is whether it's time to bite the bullet and further reduce their numbers of democratically-elected politicians.

In the background, though, it's clear the Ministry of Justice is watching - something governments of both these islands are all too aware of.

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