Sark holding first-ever parliamentary election

The people of Sark, a quirky little bastion of feudalism in the English Channel, cast ballots Wednesday to choose their first democratically elected legislature. Seats in the Chief Pleas, the legislature founded in 1579, have been held by the owners of the 40 perpetual leases granted by the seigneur, or hereditary owner, of the island. Since 1922, 12 other members have been elected. Sark, described as a 'small, sweet world of wave-encompassed wonder' by the Victorian poet Algernon Charles Swinburne, rises abruptly from the sea 25 miles (40 kms) off the coast of France. Just 3 miles wide (4.8 kms) and half as wide, the island boasts 40 miles (65 kms) of meandering coast line with cliffs up to 350 feet (105 meters) high. Visitors arrive by boat, usually from the island of Guernsey, which has the nearest airport.