Democratic Process to unelect serving Public Officials

Summary

The requester asked for the process to unelect serving public officials in the Isle of Man before their term ends. The Cabinet Office responded that currently, the public must wait for the next election, though specific grounds for declaring a seat vacant exist under the Representation of the People Act 1995 and new recall provisions are being introduced via the Elections (Keys and Local Authorities) Act 2020.

Key Facts

• Currently, there is very little the public can do to 'un-elect' a serving member before the next election.
• A seat in Keys can be declared vacant due to death, resignation, custody sentences, mental incapacity, failure to attend sittings, bankruptcy, or accepting an office of profit.
• The Elections (Keys and Local Authorities) Act 2020 aims to provide electors with more power to trigger by-elections in certain circumstances.
• The Tynwald Standards and Members' Interests Committee can report on a member's conduct, and Tynwald can suspend an MHK based on recommendations.
• As of the response date, there is no scope for the public to directly instigate action aimed at unelecting a Member.

Data Disclosed

• 2020-11-02
• 2020-11-10
• 1538549
• 3
• 1
• 1995
• 2020
• section 6
• IM1 3PN
• 01624 686244

Original Request

I require information on the process to un-elect currently serving public officials. As public officials are elected by the people of the Isle of Man, to work on and for the behalf of the public of the Isle of Man, what is the due process in order to un-elect such officials when they are no longer working on and for behalf of the public of the Isle of Man. A public serving official swears on an Oath in order to take on a nominated role - nominated by the people - and when that official begins to work for favour or affection, affinity or consanguinity, love or fear, reward or gain, and begins to do harm to man of this island, then a process to remove an official so that the people can retract their nomination at any point needs to be in place. What is this process and how does a person of the Island instigate it.

Data Tables (1)

Full Response Text

Government Office Douglas Isle of Man IM1 3PN Telephone: (+44) 01624 686244 Website: www.gov.im/co

Our ref: 1538549 10 November 2020

Dear ###

We write further to your request which was received on 2 November 2020 and which states:

"I require information on the process to un-elect currently serving public officials. As public officials are elected by the people of the Isle of Man, to work on and for the behalf of the public of the Isle of Man, what is the due process in order to un-elect such officials when they are no longer working on and for behalf of the public of the Isle of Man. A public serving official swears on an Oath in order to take on a nominated role - nominated by the people - and when that official begins to work for favour or affection, affinity or consanguinity, love or fear, reward or gain, and begins to do harm to man of this island, then a process to remove an official so that the people can retract their nomination at any point needs to be in place. What is this process and how does a person of the Island instigate it."

Please find below the information requested which is held by the Cabinet Office. Once elected, there is currently very little that the public can do in terms of ‘un- electing’ a serving member. In effect, they have to wait until the next election to make their feelings known at the ballot box. In the case of MHKs, a vacancy in seat can only be declared – and a by-election arranged – in line with the measures set out in section 6 of the Representation of the People Act 1995 which can be found here: https://www.gov.im/media/1350360/representation-of-the-people-act-1995.pdf In addition to death/resignation, a seat in Keys can be declared vacant for reasons including – being sentenced to custody, mental incapacity, failure to attend a certain number of sittings, bankruptcy, accepting an office of profit in the IoM Government. The Elections (Keys and Local Authorities) Act 2020, which will shortly be brought into force, aims to provide electors with more power by including provisions to trigger a by- election in certain prescribed circumstances. Recall is focused on dealing with a lack of judgement or unacceptable conduct, which may compromise a member’s ability to retain the confidence of his or her constituency. In addition to the primary legislation, there is a Tynwald Standards and Members’ Interests Committee, which can report to

Tynwald in respect of a Member’s conduct. Further information and contact details can be found here: https://www.tynwald.org.im/business/committee/tsmi/Pages/default.aspx Tynwald can decide to suspend an MHK based on the recommendation of the Committee – but, as things stand, there is no scope for the public to then instigate action aimed at ‘unelecting’ a Member. Please quote the reference number 1538549 in any future communications.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your freedom of information request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by completing a complaint form and submitting it electronically or by delivery/post.

An electronic version of our complaint form can be found by going to our website at https://services.gov.im/freedom-of-information/Review . If you would like a paper version of our complaint form to be sent to you by post, please contact me and I will be happy to arrange for this. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made as soon as practicable. We will respond as soon as the review has been concluded. If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Information Commissioner for a decision on; 1. Whether we have responded to your request for information in accordance with Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 2015; or 2. Whether we are justified in refusing to give you the information requested.
In response to an application for review, the Information Commissioner may, at any time, attempt to resolve a matter by negotiation, conciliation, mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution and will have regard to any outcome of this in making any subsequent decision. More detailed information on your right to a review can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.inforights.im. Should you have any queries concerning this letter, please do not hesitate to contact me. Further information about freedom of information requests can be found at www.gov.im/foi. I will now close your request as of this date.

Yours sincerely