In the early hours of this morning, the Isle of Man welcomed the 24 MHKs who will represent the island in the House of Keys for the next five years.
Of those elected, 15 are new faces in the House of Keys, while seven members of the 2021 cohort failed to secure re-election.
It was a long night for those following the counts in Ayre and Michael, Arbory, Castletown and Malew, and Garff, while voters in some constituencies had their results before 11pm.
Onchan was first to declare, with sitting MHK Rob Callister retaining his seat alongside Rachel Glover, who gained the second seat from Julie Edge. Glover topped the poll with 1,245 votes, finishing 142 votes ahead of Callister.
Douglas South was close behind, returning both of its sitting MHKs. Sarah Maltby topped the poll with 1,245 votes, while Claire Christian secured the constituency’s second seat.
The Night Builds
Ramsey was next to declare and became the first constituency to elect two new representatives. Juan McGuinness and Rob Cowell secured the seats, bringing an end to Lawrie Hooper’s ten-year tenure as one of the town’s MHKs.
Douglas North followed, with David Ashford retaining his seat and Damien Ciappelli taking the second.
Rushen then delivered two more new faces to the House of Keys. With Michelle Haywood losing her seat and Juan Watterson moving on to serve as President of Tynwald, Michael Crowe topped the poll while Mark Kemp secured the constituency’s second seat.
Douglas Central saw Peter Shimmin top the poll, ending Ann Corlett’s decade in the House of Keys. However, Chris Thomas held on to his seat, continuing a parliamentary career that began with his first election in 2013.
In Middle, Jane Poole-Wilson was comfortably returned, with James Cochrane taking the constituency’s second seat and becoming one of the House’s newest members.
Tight in The East
Back in the capital, Douglas East provided one of the night’s closest contests. Environment Minister Clare Barber lost her seat to Andy Saunders, while Joney Faragher held on by just 50 votes ahead of Dave Mackey.
Glenfaba and Peel produced a record-breaking result as 18-year-old Daniel Davison secured election, becoming the youngest person ever elected as an MHK. Katryna Baptist claimed the constituency’s other seat.
Arbory, Castletown and Malew was a more straightforward affair, with Kirrie Jenkins topping the poll by just under 400 votes. Jason Moorhouse followed to retain the second seat.
Attention then turned north to Ayre and Michael, where Chief Minister Alfred Cannan successfully retained his seat but was beaten to the top spot by Stephen Broad. Broad’s victory also came at the expense of Enterprise Minister Tim Johnston, who lost his seat.
Just after 1am, the final result of the night arrived from Garff. Richard Henthorn and Vicki Hewison were elected, with both finishing ahead of Education Minister Daphne Caine and securing the constituency’s two seats.
