If you and other prospective, or existing candidates, would like to join together because you have common policy views, you can set up a political party. We currently have two in existence in Jersey:
To create your own party, you will need to apply to the Royal Court and the Attorney General via the Judicial Greffe (note: not the States Assembly Greffe). The Judicial Greffe doesn’t have any decision-making role in approving the application, but you can contact them for further information about the application process and the necessary forms.
The guidelines around setting up your party are governed by the Political Parties (Registration) (Jersey) Law which details how to set up a political party and also its ongoing administration.
Some areas you might want to consider:
- The party must have three office holders (a Chair, Treasurer and Secretary) and one person can hold a maximum of two of those offices. This means your party must contain at least two individuals and they must also be registered on the electoral role in Jersey.
- The name of the party can’t exceed six words, and it and the emblem, mustn’t be offensive, obscene, or otherwise inappropriate. It also can’t be identical or too similar to the name or emblem of any other organisation, in order to avoid confusion. You will need to submit the name and emblem with the application.
- The party must have an address in Jersey.
- The party must have a written constitution and one of the objectives must be the endorsement of candidates for election as Deputy or Connétable. This will need to be submitted with the application.
- You will need to keep accounts for the party and the accounting period can’t exceed 12 months. A copy of the most recent accounts must be submitted with the application.
- You will need to pay a fee to apply to register a party.
For further information contact the Judicial Greffe jgreffe@courts.je
To view the full legal regulations view the Political Parties (Registration) (Jersey) Law