Amended Electoral Processes For Bifoba Uk Chapter

SECTION 11: TENURE, ELECTION, AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE OF AN ELECTED OFFICER.

11.1 Nomination of candidates into elective posts of the Association shall be taken at the September meeting preceding the January Meeting or as appropriate before elections will be held.

11.2 All bonafide members of the Association have the right to vote and be voted for subject however to the provisions of Section 5 (3) (a) (c) above.

11.3 An Electoral Committee of three (3) bonafide members shall be appointed by the house as appropriate to conduct a general election as and when deemed required and subsequently as section 11.1.

11.4 All candidates for Elected Executive offices shall acknowledge acceptance of nominations before the house and may make a very brief presentation to the general House.

11.5 A member can only contest one elective post at a particular time.

11.6 Should candidates be nominated for more than one elective posts, such member shall have the opportunity to stipulate preferred post of choice to the electoral committee who shall make recommendations to the general house in regards.

11.7 Should a member receive majority nominations for an elective post and other nominees confirm non-interest in particular post, the electoral committee shall deem such candidate returned to the post un-opposed.

11.8  Any member nominated for a position may swap the position with another nominated member as long as the two parties agree to the swap and the electoral committee can verify such arrangement.

11.9 Should Elections fail to hold as at when due, the Affairs of BIFOBA will be run by the Trustees at the expiration of the term of the executive and the

Trustees must conduct an Election within 60 Days to elect a new executive.

11.10   Tenure

The Tenure of the executive will be Two years from the AGM in which they

were inaugurated. In the case of a mid-term election to replace an officer

whose office has been declared Vacant , the newly elected officer will

serve out the term of the officer who he is replacing and may re-contest if

qualified.

11.11   The Electoral Committee shall:

 a. Comprise of 3 members of the house duly appointed by the house.

b. Organise and supervise all elections and by-elections with utmost good faith.

c. Exercise its duties independently without any influence from any quarters, but subject to this constitution.

d. Receive the nomination of candidate for the elections and determine the eligibility or otherwise of any candidate.

e. Voting shall be by show or hands of a method agreed to by electoral Committee.

f. To be elected as an officer, the candidate must win (fifty one) 51% of the total votes of the members present at the election otherwise a runoff election shall be conducted between the best two candidates for that office.

g. The Electoral Committee shall not be a standing Committee.

11.12 An Office Shall Become Vacant if:

a. The holder tenders his written resignation. Such a letter shall be debated and accepted by members at the next General meeting.

b. The holder is removed from office for gross violations of this constitution or found guilty of fraud or embezzlement of funds.

c. The holder is found one way or the other to be incapable of performing the functions of his office.

11. 13 To remove an elected officer, the following procedure must be followed:

a. A written complaint is made to the Executive Committee and a copy submitted to the officer concerned who will have 30 days to respond in writing. After his response the Executive Committee will conduct an inquiry into the matter and make their recommendation to the general meeting which may remove or retain the officer by a simple majority vote.

b. An officer against whom an allegation has been made in writing and served the complaint will be deemed to have resigned his office if he fails to respond within the stipulated thirty (30) days.

c. The electoral committee constituted by members present at the general meeting will have the next general meeting to fill the vacancy by election. Provided however, that the President shall have the power to appoint a temporary officer to fill the vacancy pending elections. Such appointee shall be eligible to contest the election.

11. 14 RUN OFF AND DISPUTED RESULTS IN AN ELECTION

a. A member having failed to win an election and suspect fraud in the voting process can request a recount of the votes once or inspect ballots if used. The result of the recount is final.

b. A member having failed to win an election but believes that some members who voted did not satisfy Section 5.3 part C of this Constitution can appeal to the Board of Trustees to have the votes of such members invalidated. The Council shall use the remaining valid votes to decide the winner.

c. The results of any election cannot be disputed by a member who did not contest the office in whose results are being disputed. Only loosing members of an elected office can dispute the results of the office they are contesting for.