How is the Chief Minister chosen?

The role of Chief Minister is not directly elected (meaning you don't get to vote for them); instead, they are elected by at least 13 MHKs at a vote in the House of Keys.

Following a General Election , interested MHKs will declare their candidacy for the role. 

Candidates need to publish a statement accompanying their nomination papers but increasingly, candidates will also publish a glitzy ‘Chief Minister Manifesto’ setting out what they would do if they get the top job, and they will sometimes take part in debates and hustings. 

Behind the scenes is where the fun begins as candidates vie for support from MHKs. In what can only be described as a conspiracy theorist's worst nightmare, this ‘horse trade’ may see candidates promise roles or support for policies in exchange for lending their vote to their bid to be CM.  

Whilst you don’t have a vote you can still lobby your MHK with your preferred choice - so hassle away.

The nomination and hustings process can take a few weeks, but once it is complete, there will be a vote in the House of Keys. MHKs will be given the option to vote for a candidate. If no candidate gets the magic 13 votes needed to win (or if the Speaker doesn’t think that they will) then fresh nominations are called for and the process repeats until we have a winner! 

Once a Chief Minister is chosen by MHKs then the Governor will officially appoint them. 

Whilst you don't get to directly vote for the Chief Minister, you do get to have a say on two of the people that have a say in who it will be (your MHKs)

If you’re planning to vote in the Isle of Man General Election - make sure you’re registered. You can register or find out if you are registered here. 

The deadline for registering to vote is 25 August 2026. If you’re not registered by then, you won’t be able to vote on election day. 

Want to know more about the election?

This is just one in our series of short blogs explaining what the hell is happening on 24 September 2026. You can read the rest of the blogs here.