DOCSLIB.ORG

WFEO Rules of Procedures – Elections Procedures – Discussion Paper Draft 19 February 2018

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
WFEO Rules of Procedures – Elections Procedures – Discussion Paper Draft 19 February 2018 WFEO Rules of Procedures – Elections Procedures – Discussion Paper Draft 19 February 2018 1. Introduction This paper provides background to issues arising from WFEO Election procedures and proposes a more robust and less time consuming process for election. The WFEO election procedures are currently provided in WFEO Rules of Procedures (RoP) clauses 2.5 c,d, and e and in Attachment B. For completeness and to avoid gaps in the processes, the entire procedure will be contained in WFEO RoP Attachment B. Proposed changes are shown in Attachment 1 in red font. The main change is in the process of election using a Single Transferrable Voting System as is currently in use in many professional institutions around the world. 2. Discussion of issues 2.1 Nominations Committee: The role of the Nominations Committee is to be clarified with respect to the election process. The Nominations Committee is appointed by the WFEO Executive Board to oversee the election process. It is important that: 1. The Nominations Committee meets to review the nominations and confirm that all candidates have submitted the appropriate documentation by the due date 2. A report is prepared by the Nominations Committee to the Executive Board, Executive Council and the General Assembly on their oversight of the election nomination process 3. There is transparency and adherence to the Rules of Procedure in the process of nominating candidates and their election 4. Every member of the Nominations Committee must exercise due diligence and is responsible for reviewing every candidates’ documentation and confirming their accuracy and completeness. 5. Members of the Nominations Committee may raise queries with the President and/or the Executive Board on issues of due process if these are not addressed satisfactorily within the committee meeting. 6. Under French Law, where WFEO is registered, it is important that the RoP states the authority and duties of the Nominations Committee and the Chair including: a) Responsibility (through the report) for informing the members of the qualified candidates to vacant positions; b) Responsibility to inform the members of the list of qualified voters and accepted proxies at the General Assembly; c) the Chair, supported by members of the Nominations Committee, is given full authority from the Executive Board to control and manage the election process, to ensure that it in accordance with the ROP and the Constitution. d) In order to execute the mission of the election process, the Chair and the Nominations Committee has the full resources of the WFEO Secretariat. 1 e) The Chair must receive reports of all potential incidents, mistakes, frauds or anything affecting the election process before the election and during the election. These need to be reported to the Executive Board (as a whole) as soon as practicable. f) For good governance, during the election process, the Nomination Committee must act collectively in their decision making and must act absolutely independently of the Executive Board. g) At the end of the election process, the Chair, supported by the Nomination Committee, formally validates all elections results. If it is not possible to validate one or more election results, the specific election will be declared invalid and the process shall start again. 2.2 Positions for Election: The following positions are usually open for election: A. Election for President-Elect (one Vacancy, any number of Candidates) B. Election for Executive Vice President (one Vacancy, any number of Candidates, including some/none of the unsuccessful candidates from A – with appropriately completed nomination papers) C. Election for National Members for Executive Council (up to 8 Vacancies, any number of Candidates, including some/none of the unsuccessful candidates from A and B with appropriately completed nomination papers) D. (Possible Election for a number of International Members for Executive Council) It should be mandatory that every candidate provides completed nomination papers by the due date for every position that he/she is seeking to nominate. This includes two letters of support from national members in good standing for each positon for which the candidate is nominating. No changes are proposed to: a) The schedule for the election, i.e. the schedule for the call for nominations, review by the nomination committee and declaration of eligible candidates b) The procedure for support by two National Member in good standing, different from the nominating National Member c) the number of positions that the same candidate can nominate for. Candidates may nominate for Position A, if eligible, if unsuccessful they may be a candidate for Position B if eligible, if unsuccessful they pay be a candidate for Position C Candidates are representatives of member organisations The members of the Executive Board are representatives of the National Members. The members of the Executive Council are representatives of the National and International Members. It is therefore essential that: a) All candidates for election must be duly authorised representatives of the National Member Organisation. 2 i. The candidate must be nominated by the National Member and must be a duly authorised representative of the National member. ii. The Nomination process requires that the candidate must provide written agreement to be nominated. iii. Once elected, the representative of the National Member must serve the full term of the positon. All representatives of International Members that are members of the Executive Council must: i. be duly authorised representatives of the International member. ii. The International member must be in good standing as defined in Constitution., Article 8, Sec. D, to be a member of the Executive Council. iii. At present, the representatives of the International Member are not elected and are nominated by their organisation. They will be required to serve a two-year term. iv. Every International member is required to confirm their representative prior to each General Assembly. The agreement of the representatives and the biography of the representative must be provided according to the schedule provided in the RoP. 2.3 The Election Method/Voting System: The background to the issues arising from the current WFEO election procures is provided in Attachment 3. The processes of the General Assembly in Rome 2017 demonstrated that a more efficient process is needed. A Single Transferable Voting System is widely used by many professional engineering institutions and is proposed for WFEO. This addresses the problems identified under the current system. Voting can be conducted in a single round even where there are multiple candidates and counting can be done by hand. This system has been recommended by the Chair of the Nominations Committee 2013-2017, Prof. Paul Jowitt. The background paper by Prof. Jowitt and the options that were presented to the Executive Board in November 2017 is shown in Attachment 3. An example of the Single Transferrable Voting System as used by Engineers Australia is shown in Attachment 2. Many other professional institutions use this system for both manual and electronic voting. 2.4 The Ballot Procedure It is proposed that the counting method will remain manual as there is usually a small number of candidates and positions for election. See Attachment 1 The voting process will continue to be manual using paper ballots. Each elector ranks the candidates in order of preference. Most preferred = 1 etc. Ranking is only as far as the electors wish. 2.5 Nomination procedures The procedures for nominations have been clarified in the proposed amendments. Strong oversight and reporting by the Nominations Committee is essential for transparency and a robust process. See Attachment 1 3 2.6 Eligibility to be Nominated Candidates for election must be duly authorised representatives of their National member organisation. Representatives of International Members at the Executive Council must be duly authorised members of their organisation. See Attachment 1 2.7 Eligibility to Vote Federations Members must be in good standing as required by the WFEO Constitution. However, dues must be paid at least four weeks before the start of the General Assembly. 2.8 Proxy Votes. No change is proposed to the number of proxy votes, currently two per National Member. However, Proxies must be provided on the prescribed form and advised at least 7 days before the start of the General Assembly. See Attachment 1 4 ATTACHMENT 1 PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS TO THE WFEO RULES OF PROCEDURE It is proposed that the following clause 2.5(c), (d) and (e) be replaced as follows: Changes are shown in red font. Existing Clauses: 2.5 c A secret ballot is required: in the election of Officers and Members of the Executive Council; and when requested by at least five Federation Members. 2.5 d In the event of a ballot where the number of candidates is greater than the number of positions to be filled, voting will be held in a series of rounds. The ballot for each round will include the instruction: “Carefully draw a circle around the (number of open positions) names you are voting for; you may vote for less, but voting for more will invalidate your ballot.” The person whose name receives the number of votes that is more than 50% of the number of voters on that round is elected. The name of any person elected and the name receiving the least votes will be eliminated in further ballot rounds. Voting by rounds continues until each open position is filled. In any round resulting in a tie the President will cast the deciding vote given in a sealed envelope to the officer conducting the election prior to that vote. 2.5 e Proxies may be used for voting during meetings of the General Assembly. The Federation Member (not attending the GA) giving its proxy and the other Federation Member (attending the GA) exercising the proxy must be Federation Members in good standing.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Electoral Rules and Democratic Electoral Rules, and Governance Democratic Governance Edited by Mala Htun and G
    Report of the Political Science, Task Force on Electoral Rules and Democratic Electoral Rules, and Governance Democratic Governance Edited by Mala Htun and G. Bingham Powell, Jr. AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE AssOCIATION n TasK FORCE REPORT, SEPTEMBER 2013 Political Science, Electoral Rules, and Democratic Governance Report of the Task Force on Electoral Rules and Democratic Governance Edited by Mala Htun and G. Bingham Powell, Jr. SEPTEMBER 2013 AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE AssOCIATION 1527 New Hampshire Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036-1206 Copyright © 2013 by the American Political Science Association. All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-878147-41-7 Task Force on Electoral Rules and Democratic Governance Task Force Members Mala Htun, University of New Mexico, Chair G. Bingham Powell, Jr., University of Rochester; President, APSA, 2011–12 John Carey, Dartmouth College Karen E. Ferree, University of California, San Diego Simon Hix, London School of Economics Mona Lena Krook, Rutgers University Robert G. Moser, University of Texas, Austin Shaheen Mozaffar, Bridgewater State University Andrew Rehfeld, Washington University in St. Louis Andrew Reynolds, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Ethan Scheiner, University of California, Davis Melissa Schwartzberg, Columbia University Matthew S. Shugart, University of California, Davis ii American Political Science Assocation Table of Contents TASK FORCE MEMBERS ............................................................................................................................. ii LIST OF
    [Show full text]
  • CLASSIFICATION of ELECTORAL SYSTEMS Information in Russian
    ВЕСТНИК ПЕРМСКОГО УНИВЕРСИТЕТА. ЮРИДИЧЕСКИЕ НАУКИ 2016 PERM UNIVERSITY HERALD. JURIDICAL SCIENCES Issue 33 Information for citation: Khudoley D. M. Klassifikatsiya izbiratel’nykh sistem [Classification of Electoral Systems]. Vestnik Permskogo universiteta. Juridicheskie nauki – Perm University Herald. Juridical Sciences. 2016. Issue 33. Pp. 258–267. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.17072/1995-4190-2016-33-258-267. UDC 342.8 DOI: 10.17072/1995-4190-2016-33-258-267 CLASSIFICATION OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS D. M. Khudoley Perm State University 15, Bukireva st., Perm, 614990, Russia ORCID: 0000-0001-5870-1537 ResearcherID: E-3184-2016 e-mail: [email protected] Introduction: the article analyzes classification of electoral systems. Purpose: to determine essential and minor features of various electoral systems. Methods: general scientific methods (dialectics, analysis and synthesis, abstraction and concretization) and specific scientific methods (formal legal, comparative law, technical legal) are used in the article, special attention being paid to the comparative law and system research methods. Results: the traditional approach to distinguishing between majority and proportional systems has lost its importance. As a result of the development of science and search for the fairest technique, many systems concurrently be- long to both kinds. The modern world witnesses the emergence of a lot of hybrid systems pos- sessing features of both majority and proportional systems. They include proportional systems with open lists and semi-proportional systems. Moreover, purely proportional systems are seldom applied. In many countries they are in fact disproportional because of various rules distorting representation of political parties (e.g. a threshold). Some majority systems prove to be minority ones. Conclusions: all electoral systems are subdivided into four groups.
    [Show full text]
  • EUROPEANIZATION in CONTEXT by Francesco
    REFORMING ITALY’S BUDGET PROCESS, 1960-1999: EUROPEANIZATION IN CONTEXT by Francesco Stolfi Laurea in Economia e Commercio, Università di Roma, 1995 M.A. in Urban Studies, Portland State University, 1998 M.A. in Political Science, University of Pittsburgh, 2001 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2006 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Francesco Stolfi It was defended on April 10, 2006 and approved by Mark Hallerberg, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Emory University Anibal Perez-Liñan, Assitant Professor, Department of Political Science B. Guy Peters, Professor, Department of Political Science Claudio M. Radaelli, Professor, Department of Politics, University of Exeter Dissertation Advisor: Alberta Sbragia, Professor, Department of Political Science ii Copyright © by Francesco Stolfi 2006 iii THE REFORMS OF ITALY’S BUDGET PROCESS, 1960-1999: EUROPEANIZATION IN CONTEXT Francesco Stolfi, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2006 By studying the reforms of Italy’s budget institutions this research aims to define the factors that explain the timing and content of institutional and policy reform in the context of extreme policy stability. It argues that the timing of reform depends on the preferences regarding the status quo of the parties in the government majority, and that these preferences depend on the nature of the party system (whether it allows government alternation or not) and on the type of electoral rules. Specifically, lack of government alternation and the use of proportional representation minimize the likelihood of reform, since it gives incentives to parties to develop a distributive policy orientation.
    [Show full text]
  • Delegate Information
    Libertarian Party of Oregon Special Convention Delegate Packet May 15, 2021 Marine Park Pavilion 395 SW Portage Road Cascade Locks, Oregon 97014 Outgoing 2019 Board of Directors Incoming 2021 Board of Directors Will Hobson Will Hobson Kyle Markley Kyle Markley Timothy Perkins Timothy Perkins Tim Sippel Tim Sippel Peter Vandenberg Peter Vandenberg Don Crawford William Johnson Jr Carolyn Wade Taylor Rickey Wes Wagner Rachel Saulo Ted Yanez Kenny Sernach Parking Parking on the Marine Park grounds is "Pay to Park" via an app that you must download from ParkingApp.com (rates are $2/per hour or $10 for all day parking). There is plenty of FREE parking along Wa Na Pa St. between Portage Road and Cascade Locks Cemetery, however please do not leave valuables in your car as break-ins are possible. Accommodations Best Western Plus Columbia River Inn 735 Wanapa St, Cascade Locks, OR 97014 541-374-8777 Bridge of the Gods Motel 630 Wa Na Pa St, Cascade Locks, OR 97014 541-374-8628 Cascade Motel 300 Forest Ln, Cascade Locks, OR 97014 541-374-8750 Restaurants Bridgeside 745 NW Wa Na Pa St, Cascade Locks, OR 97014 541-374-8477 7am-6pm Friday & 7am-7pm Saturday Brigham Fish Market 681 Wa Na Pa St, Cascade Locks, OR 97014 541-374-9340 10am-6pm Friday & Saturday Thunder Island Brewing 601 Wa Na Pa St, Cascade Locks, OR 97014 971-231-4599 11am-9pm Friday & Saturday There are other restaurants in town such as the Eastwind Drive In and Cascade Locks Ale House. Please check times as some of them close rather early.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Representation of the Poor
    The Political Representation of the Poor by Karen Long Jusko A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Political Science) in The University of Michigan 2008 Doctoral Committee: Professor John E. Jackson, Co-Chair Professor Christopher H. Achen, Princeton University, Co-Chair Professor Robert J. Franzese Jr. Professor James M. Lepkowksi Karen Long Jusko c All rights reserved. 2008 For my Mum and Dad, and for Ryan, with love and gratitude. ii Acknowledgements The offices and charges of the society should be apportioned for the good of the society itself, and in such mode that difference in degree or standing should not interfere with unanimity and good-will. It is most important that office bearers be appointed with due prudence and discretion, and each one’s charge carefully mapped out, in order that no members may suffer harm. The common funds must be administered with strict honesty, in such a way that a member may receive assistance in proportion to his necessities. Rerum Novarum (1891) Christopher Achen encouraged me to pursue questions about the common good with rigor and clarity, and it is because of Chris’s early enthusiasm for my research question – how do electoral rules affect the poor? – that I have found my research agenda. I am most grateful for his guidance and support, and hope that my research reflects the best of his mentorship. I would also like to acknowledge a few others who have contributed to this project in important ways. I hope they recognize their contributions in the pages that follow, and that I’ve competently reflected their insights and addressed their questions.
    [Show full text]
  • Liberal Democrats
    Liberal Democrats From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This article is about the British political party. For similarly named parties in other countries, see Liberal Democratic Party. For the system of government, see Liberal democracy. Liberal Democrats Leader Nick Clegg MP Deputy Leader Simon Hughes MP President Tim Farron[1] MP Founded 2 March 1988 Merger of Liberal Party and SDP Preceded by SDP-Liberal Alliance 8-10 Great George Street, Headquarters London, SW1P 3AE [2] Youth wing Liberal Youth Membership (2010) 65,038[3] Liberalism Social liberalism Cultural liberalism Economic liberalism[4] Internal ideological trends: Ideology • Green politics • Green Liberalism • Civil libertarianism • Internationalism[5] • Social democracy • Community politics[6] Radical centre to Centre- Political position left[7][8][9] International Liberal International affiliation European Liberal Democrat European affiliation and Reform Party European Alliance of Liberals and Parliament Group Democrats for Europe [10] Official colours Yellow 57 / 650 House of Commons [11] 79 / 738 House of Lords [12][13] European 12 / 72 [14] Parliament London Assembly 3 / 25 Scottish Parliament 5 / 129 5 / 60 Welsh Assembly [15][16] 3,078 / 21,871 Local government [17] Website libdems.org.uk Politics of the United Kingdom Political parties Elections The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform,[18] progressive taxation,[19] wealth taxation,[20] human rights laws,[21] cultural liberalism,[22] banking reform[23] and civil liberties (the party president's book of office is John Stuart Mill's 1859 On Liberty). The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party.
    [Show full text]
  • Elections Procedure Code
    Elections ProcedUre Code Last amended on 14 FebrUary 2021 by the Board of Directors Last confirmed on 22 December 2020 at a general meeting of the members CUrrent to 16 FebrUary 2021 Elections ProcedUre Code o f the University of Toronto StUdents’ Union The University of Toronto StUdents’ Union (UTSU) is a not-for-profit organization incorporated Under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA). The UTSU fUnctions aUtonomously from the University of Toronto, and acts as the primary stUdent government for over 38,000 UndergradUate stUdents at the University of Toronto’s St. George CampUs. You can learn more about how the UTSU operates at UtsU.ca/governance UtsU.ca /company/UtsU /UoftsU Elections ProcedUre Code | University of Toronto StUdents’ Union Notes for Accessibility 1. Per Bylaw VI (9) amendments to the Elections ProcedUre Code shall be made based on the recommendations of the Elections and Referenda Committee, which are sUbject to the approval of the Board of Directors. Amendments within the Elections ProcedUre Code shall be sUbject to the same restrictions that are outlined within Bylaw VIII (1) and mUst be confirmed by the Membership of the Union at a General Meeting by a simple majority. 2. Text displayed in r ed has been added or amended by the Board of Directors and is in effect pending ratification at the next general meeting. 3. Text displayed in stricken-through red has been removed by the Board of Directors and is no longer in effect, pending ratification at the next general meeting. 4. Text displayed in p Urple has been added or amended by the Board of Directors and will take effect Upon ratification at the next general meeting.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mechanics of Electoral Systems
    Appendix THE MECHANICS OF ELECTORAL SYSTEMS The conversion of votes cast in a parliamentary election into seats in a legislature involves a number of related but distinct stages; at each stage choices can be made between different ways of accomplishing this end (Rose, 1983). Electoral systems can conveniently be divided into two major categories. Majority systems award a seat to the candidate who gets the most votes in a given constituency, whether a plurality of votes or an absolute majority, that is, one vote more than half of the total. Proportional representation (PR) systems attempt to allocate seats in proportion to votes. There is more than one form of proportional representation; it is the most frequently used method in Western nations today. In plurality systems (often known as 'first past the post') the candidate with the largest number of votes wins, even if this is less than an absolute majority. In a single-member constituency, electors have one vote. In multi-member constituencies, electors usually have as many votes as there are seats and candidates are ranked in order of the number of votes until all the seats in the constituency have been filled. Variants of the plurality system have been employed in order to assist in the representation of minorities in multi-member constituencies. The limited vote, used in Spain and Portugal in the 19th and early 20th centuries and in 13 United Kingdom constituencies between 1868 and 1880, restricts the number of votes an elector may cast to less than the total number of seats in a multi-member constituency.
    [Show full text]
  • Read the Full PDF
    Job Name:2105245 Date:14-12-31 PDF Page:2105245cbc.p1.pdf Color: Cyan Magenta Yellow Black Democracy atthe Polls AEI'S AT THE POLLS STUDIES The American Enterprise Institute has initiated this series in order to promote an understanding of the electoral process as it functions in democracies around the world. The series will include studies of at least two national elections in each of nineteen countries on five continents, by scholars from the United States and abroad who are recognized as experts in their field. More information on the titles in this series can be found at the back of this book. Democracy atthe Polls A Comparative Study of Competitive National Elections Edited by David Butler, Howard R. Penniman, and Austin Ranney American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Washington and London Distributed to the Trade by National Book Network, 15200 NBN Way, Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17214. To order call toll free 1-800-462-6420 or 1-717-794-3800. For all other inquiries please contact the AEI Press, 1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 or call 1-800-862-5801. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title: Democracy at the polls. (AEI studies; 297) Includes index. 1. Elections. 2. Comparative government. I. Butler, David E. II. Penniman, Howard Rae, 1916- III. Ranney, Austin. IV. Series: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. AEI studies; 297. JF1001.D45 324.6 80-22652 ISBN 0-8447-3405-5 ISBN 0-8447-3403-9 (pbk.) AEI Studies 297 ©1981 by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, D.C., and London.
    [Show full text]
  • Proportional Representation, Political Fragmentation and Political Decision-Making: an Economic Analysis
    Proportional Representation, Political Fragmentation and Political Decision-Making: an Economic Analysis Benny Geys Dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor in Economic Sciences. Vrije Universiteit Brussel Acknowledgements “I am like a piece of land that of itself is dry and barren, but if you scatter manure over it and cultivate it, it will bear good fruit. By this I mean to say that your Grace’s conversation is the manure that has been cast upon the barren land of my dry wit; the time I spend in your service (…) does the cultivating; and as a result of it all, I hope to bring forth blessed fruits.” (Don Quichote, part II, Ch. XII) In the course of the past four years, I have built up a lot of debts. Consequently, I gladly take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to those who provided answers to my questions or, equally important, confronted me with questions about what I thought were answers. Hopefully, I’ll be able to return the favour(s) some day. First and foremost, I wish to thank my advisor Bruno Heyndels for his incessant attempts to turn the rough land into a garden-ground. Throughout my period as a doctoral student, his ever-open door (literally and figuratively) as well as the inspiration and opportunities he provided have been a great benefit to me. The same holds for the other members of my Dissertation Committee: Kris Deschouwer and Bruno De Borger. Building on their own fields of expertise they provided important feedback at various stages of the research, which brought an interesting (and necessary) change of perspective.
    [Show full text]