By the end of Thursday, Jersey will have a new Chief Minister.

It's set to be a tense affair in the States Chamber, as three men compete for the top job in island politics.

Either Ian Gorst, Lyndon Farnham or Sam Mézec will become Chief Minister.

It is up for grabs after Kristina Moore lost a confidence vote last week.

Of the contenders to succeed her, the longest-serving politician by far is Lyndon Farnham, who was first sworn in in 1999.  He served as Economic Development Minister and Deputy Chief Minister in John Le Fondre's government.

Ian Gorst has been Chief Minister twice before. First elected in 2005, he served two terms as leader 2011-2018.

He was External Relations Minister under John Le Fondre's government and Treasury Minister under Kristina Moore's tenure.

Sam Mézec leads the Reform Jersey party and has been a States Member since 2014.

He is a former Housing Minister, but resigned from the position after two and a half years to support an ultimately unsuccessful confidence vote in John Le Fondre.

Explained: Electing a Chief Minister

Deputy Gorst goes into today's leadership contest with the most backers on paper.

Without a majority of 25, the vote will go to a second ballot, and that could tip the balance in Lyndon Farnham's favour.

Dep Gorst starts the day with 17 votes from those who have declared their allegiance, while Dep Farnhan is understood to have 11 and Dep Mézec has the ten votes from his party.

That leaves 11 States members who've not told us how they will vote - or are still undecided.

If Dep Mezec doesn't get any non-party support, he will drop out after the first round and Dep Gorst and Dep Farnham will go head to head.

Then it could come down to Reform's votes.  They're tipped to back Dep Farnham, so could be kingmakers.  If they were to abstain, Dep Gorst might edge it.

It is set to be a hard-fought and closely won race to the top office.

Channel 103 will bring you the latest from the States Chamber throughout the day on-air, online and on social media.