Vale senior constable Colin Bond said that idea of having the 12 election candidates at the douzaine room all day before the more usual hustings in the evening was an amalgamation of ideas from a number of people. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0555976)
VALE election candidates and electors will get the chance to engage more closely in a different approach at the hustings next month.
The douzaine has decided to open the doors of the douzaine room from 10am until 6pm on Thursday 17 April for any of the 5,645 electors to meet the 12 candidates battling for seven seats. The customary meeting will be held at the same venue at 7.30pm. Candidates will be then be given five minutes to address electors, answering any issues raised during the day.
Voters will be able to submit written questions in advance and a selection covering a cross-section of topics will be asked after candidates have addressed the evening meeting. ‘The reason we are adopting a new format was because of the number of candidates,’ said senior constable Colin Bond.
‘We discussed this within the douzaine and this was a format we reckon would be best. It’s an amalgamation of different ideas from different people.’
It will mean the evening meeting is likely to last about two hours instead of possibly about four.
‘We believed the best format was to have an open house during the day during which people can chat individually to candidates and have the chance to submit questions for them to answer after their five-minute speeches,’ said Mr Bond.
‘More people might be able to ask more questions than at one meeting.
‘It’s to make things a little bit more friendly – 12 candidates sitting on a platform can be unwieldy.’
There were concerns it would have been impossible to have conduct a meeting in a satisfactory manner with so many candidates at a venue which is normally standing room only for hustings. The approach is similar to that held in St Peter Port at Beau Sejour at the last election.
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