Sark

A feudal parliament that voted itself into democracy in 2008 Until 2008, Sark's parliament, the Chief Pleas, was mostly made up of landholding tenants who sat by right of their property rather than by election. Islanders backed a fully elected chamber in a 2006 referendum, and the first democratic election was held on December 10, 2008. The hereditary Seigneur survives with a largely ceremonial role: he cannot vote in the Chief Pleas but can temporarily veto its ordinances. For anyone studying how feudal structures give way, this small Channel Island made the change within living memory.