functions of the Bailiff in the event of the latter's absence or incapacity. There are four other non-elected members of the States Assembly:
l The Lieutenant-Governor, who is Her Majesty's personal representative in Jersey. He attends States meetings as the representative of the Crown but
takes no part in debates, and l The Dean of Jersey, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General, each of whom have the right to speak but not to vote. Traditionally they speak on matters falling within their area of responsibility. Additionally, the Attorney General and Solicitor General (who do not normally attend the Assembly
together) may be called upon to advise the Assembly on legal aspects of the matter that is under consideration.
Public elections Elections for Senators and Deputies are held every three years, when the term of six of the 12 Senators and all 29 Deputies expires. The election for Senators takes place
in October with an all-island constituency, while the elections for Deputy are conducted by electoral district, and take place in November. Most electoral districts return a single Member; others return two, three or four Members, according to population. Connétables are elected as head of
their parish administration by the voters of their parish for a period of three years. At present, elections for Connétables take place at different times in the various parishes; but the States has recently agreed to move to a common election day for all 12 Connétables by 2011. The same electoral register serves for
all three types of election. With the ability to vote for 12 Senators, one Connétable and one or more Deputies it could be argued that the individual Jersey voter has more parliamentary representatives to call on than in almost any other Commonwealth jurisdiction.
Political parties The States of Jersey does not currently operate on a party political basis. There is no formal restriction on the establishment of political parties in the island but, in recent years, few parties have been created and at the time of writing only one party is active. Although more political parties may
emerge in the future, most candidates for election at present stand on their own individual merits and publish a personal manifesto. Elected Members do, from time to time, form themselves into informal groups to pursue common interests; but generally every one of the 53 Members acts and votes independently of the other Members. This is not to say that there is no
political controversy in the island. Issues inflame and divide the community here as elsewhere: preserving the island's unique way of life and natural beauty, how to deal with an ageing population and run a productive economy while preserving the island's environment, achieving value for money in public administration, actions to minimize material and social deprivation, the level of taxation, and many others. On each issue people will group on every side and the politicians will divide. But on the next issue the groupings will be different, and the political adversary of yesterday may be the ally of today.
The Members’ entrance to the States Building. 30 The Parliamentarian 2008/Issue One - Jersey
The work of the States Assembly The States Assembly meets on a fortnightly cycle between January and July and again between September and early December. Each fortnightly meeting lasts for one, 2 or 3 days and on average the Assembly meets for some 35 to 40 days a year. All meetings are held in the