Election procedures
1. Introduction 1
2. Responsibilities 2
3. Communications 2
4. Invitation to Stand for Election 3
5. Timetable 3
6. Notification 4
7. Nominations 5
8. Candidate Questionnaires 6
9. Voting 7
10. The Count and Notification of Results 8
11. Code of Conduct 8
12. Breaches of Procedures 9
Definitions 10
Appendix 1 11
1. Introduction
1.1 The Governance and Nominations Committee (GNC) has set these election procedures to
govern the election of members to the International Alumni Board (IAB). (They do not
cover other alumni elections, or elections to the committees and subgroups of the IAB.)
The Committee aims to ensure that the procedures it adopts are open and transparent,
and that they enable the full participation of alumni in elections to the IAB. It is important
that all alumni are aware of their rights and responsibilities, both as voters and as
candidates.
1.2 The GNC has agreed the following core principles to be followed in the elections:
the systems for voting should be secure and accurate. Only eligible alumni should vote,
and the votes must be recorded and counted accurately
the election process is objective. Procedures should be applied consistently and
impartially
all alumni should be encouraged to participate in elections. The GNC will take steps to
ensure that elections are accessible to all (both as candidates and as voters); that
elections are well publicised in a timely manner; and that it is easy to vote
be
written in a clear English, and available to all. The results of the election will be
announced promptly, and information on the results will be available.
1.3 These principles are listed in order of priority and where there is a conflict between them
they will be applied in that order.
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2. Responsibilities
2.1 The GNC is responsible for:
Overseeing the election process including communications to and from candidates and
the alumni body
Formulating guidelines for candidates‟ conduct during the election process
Appointing a member of the GNC as the Returning Officer
Determining the rules, timings and procedures for elections.
2.2 The GNC will appoint one of its members as a Returning Officer for each election. If no
other member is appointed the Chair of the Committee will be the Returning Officer.
During the election process the Returning Officer acts on behalf of, and has full delegated
authority from, the GNC in regard to the conduct of the election.
2.3 The Returning Officer is responsible for the application and interpretation of these rules,
and any other applicable procedures; arranging the election; dealing with queries relating
to the election; counting the votes (or overseeing the count); and announcing the results.
3. Communications
3.1 The GNC will adopt the following communications principles
3.1.1 Not all alumni may have email, access to the internet or other form of rapid electronic
communications, and so all critical information must be published at least once on paper
or some equivalent form of physical communication. It is also a general communications
principle that critical communications will be sent by both physical and electronic methods.
3.1.2 The GNC will not rely on one channel of communication alone. To guard against the risk
that alumni may not receive any single given communication, different communications
channels will be used, and/or information repeated in different editions of the same
channel. It is assumed that all alumni are able to receive and return postal
communications to and from the School within 6 weeks. Alumni who do not have this
service should take responsibility for making special application to the Returning Officer
for alternative communications and voting arrangements, the arrangement of which is at
the discretion of the Returning Officer.
3.1.3. Whenever possible, where one or more communication channel is being used, the same
information should be provided on each. If this is not possible, clear reference to how the
full information can be obtained should be provided.
3.2 General information on the elections along with the contact points for further information
will be included in every printed Alumni Directory.
3.3 Communications by post and email will be sent to the preferred address provided to the
School by the alumnus and kept on the School database. It is the responsibility of the
alumnus to ensure that the School has the correct address details.
3.4 Postal or faxed communications will only be accepted as valid if signed with normal
signature. Email communication will generally only be accepted as valid if it is received
from an email address specified in 3.3 above; such emails will be assumed to be valid
unless the alumnus who owns the address makes a statement to the Alumni Relations
Office that s/he does not want emails to be accepted as valid. The IAB accepts no
responsibility for the consequence of identity fraud.
3.5 The Returning Officer may specify that for certain actions (for example, voting) only
certain forms of communication will be accepted.
3.6 Failure by any alumnus to receive election mailings or emails will not invalidate an election.
3.7 A discussion forum for the election will be available on the School Portal (or its successor).
The address will be notified to all alumni in election communications. Portal is available to
candidates and other alumni for the purpose of allowing a postings and discussion area.
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4. Invitation to Stand for Election
4.1 Whilst notification of the elections, and the opportunity to stand, will be given to all alumni
(see below), the GNC may proactively identify possible candidates throughout the year in
consultation with IAB members, the Alumni Relations Office, the Development Department
and any others in the School. The GNC will consider their recommendations and, where
appropriate, contact the potential candidates to discuss their willingness to stand for
election.
5. Timetable
5.1 When required, elections will normally be held between April and August. The exact
timetable for each election will be determined by the GNC at least four months before the
proposed closing date for nominations. The timetable will then be communicated through
appropriate channels, along with these procedures.
5.2 The timetable will be governed by the timetable for the slowest physical communications
channel (currently AlumniNews) so as to ensure that all alumni are aware of the election
timetable, including results; if the timing of the slowest communications channel changes,
the GNC can change the lead time of an election.
5.3 All elections will follow the order of events listed below:
Set the timetable See section 4
Appoint Returning Officer (if applicable) See section 2
Publish and circulate the notification of
See section 5
election
Closing date for nominations and Candidate
See section 6
Questionnaires
Finalise Candidate Questionnaires See section 7
Despatch the voting papers and Candidate
See section 8
Questionnaires
Voting opens See section 8
Close of voting See section 8
Count the votes See section 10
Notify the candidates of the results See section 10
Publish the results See section 10
5.4 For all deadlines the closing day will be a working day in London, UK and the time for the
closure of the deadline will be 5.00 pm London time unless otherwise specified.
6. Notification
6.1 Notification of IAB elections will be given to alumni at least 8 weeks before the closing
date for nominations. Notification will be in accordance with the stated communications
principles.
6.1a The GNC resolved on 20 April 2006 to amend clause 6.1 of the election procedures
agreed on 30 June 2004 to effect a change in the notification period of IAB elections from
"at least 8 weeks" to "at least 7 weeks".
6.1b The GNC resolved on 6 December 2006 to amend the election procedures agreed on 30
June 2004 to effect the following changes:
Clause 3.1.2 and 6.1 changed to reflect a change in the notification period of IAB elections
from “at least 8 weeks” to “at least 6 weeks.”
Clause 5.1 changed to reflect movement of the election period from “June and
September” to “April and August.”
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6.2 Notification will include:
A summary of the role of the IAB.
Role and responsibilities of an IAB member (see IAB Member‟s role, Appendix 1)
The number of vacancies to be filled.
The timetable for the election.
How to stand as a candidate or nominate a candidate.
Candidate and nomination forms or details of how to obtain them.
The election procedures or details of how to obtain them.
Any other information considered by the GNC to be necessary to facilitate the election.
6.3 Prospective candidates will also be given the opportunity to contact a member of the GNC
to discuss the role and responsibilities of the IAB in more detail.
7. Nominations
7.1 To stand for election a candidate must be eligible, able to meet the commitments of an
IAB member and complete, sign and submit a candidate‟s form, and be nominated by two
other alumni who should also provide brief „statements of support‟. (Members of the GNC
are not eligible to nominate candidates.) Candidates must also be able to provide both a
contact telephone number and an email address. All forms must be received by the
deadline specified.
7.2 A nomination will be invalid if:
A completed candidate‟s form and two nominations have not been received at the
specified address by the closing date for nominations.
The candidate‟s form is incomplete or has not been signed.
The nominations are incomplete or are unsigned.
The candidate is not eligible for election.
The nominators are not eligible as nominators.
The particulars of the candidate or the persons nominating the candidate are not truthful
or accurate.
It is not necessary for both nominators to sign the same form, as separate forms may be
more convenient. In addition, whilst the GNC will issue nomination forms, a nomination
received will be valid provided it contains the same information as the form, and is signed.
7.3 The Returning Officer will check the nominations and declare whether or not a
nomination is valid. The Returning Officer‟s decision that a nomination is invalid is
final. When the Returning Officer holds that a nomination is invalid, the candidate‟s
nomination will be immediately withdrawn from the election.
7.4 A candidate can withdraw from an election by submitting a notice of withdrawal. This
must be signed by the candidate, and delivered to the Returning Officer at the same
address as for the delivery of nomination papers. A nominator cannot withdraw
his/her nomination following the close of nominations.
7.5 The candidate‟s form and nomination forms may be submitted by hand, post,
facsimile or email. However, an email will only be accepted if it is received from an
email address specified in 3.3 above.
7.6 If more than two nominations are received, the two that will be published are those
identified on the candidate‟s form, or the first two received if the nominations are
different to those listed.
7.7 The names and details of candidates, or potential candidates, shall not be released
by the GNC, or anyone acting on its behalf, prior to the closing date for nominations.
8. Candidate Questionnaires
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8.1 Candidates should submit answers to their Candidate Questionnaire. The deadline
for Candidate Questionnaires will be the same as the closing date for nomination.
Failure to submit a Candidate Questionnaire by this date will not invalidate a
nomination, but no Candidate Questionnaire will be published if received after the
deadline.
8.2 The Candidate Questionnaire should give brief details of
The candidate‟s volunteer experience and leadership qualities.
What they would like to contribute to the School and its alumni community and
why other alumni should vote for them.
8.3 Each answer on the Candidate Questionnaire must be no longer than 30 words.
Answers exceeding 30 words may be returned to the candidates for editing (if this is
possible before the deadline) or simply cut down to this limit. The School must be
referred to as London Business School or The School, not LBS.
8.4 The GNC, or a nominated representative, will review the Candidate Questionnaires,
which are published at the GNC‟s discretion, and it will not publish any Candidate
Questionnaire, or part of a Candidate Questionnaire, which it believes to contain
inaccurate or untruthful information; which it believes to be potentially libellous; or
which it believes could subject the School to any form of legal action or discredit it in
any way.
8.5 Candidate Questionnaires submitted by each candidate will be converted to a
standard format by the Alumni Relations Office to ensure consistency between
Candidate Questionnaires. They will then be returned, with any comments from the
GNC, to each candidate for checking. The Candidate Questionnaire document will
then be sent to the mailing house for printing and a final version of the complete
document will be sent out to each candidate for final proofing. At this point, only
typographical errors will be acceptable as changes.
8.6 Candidate Questionnaires will be published in random order, established by the
Returning Officer drawing concealed names in the presence of a witness.
.
9. Voting
9.1 If an election is uncontested (i.e. the number of candidates is equal to or less than the
number of vacancies) the candidates will be elected unopposed.
9.2 In the event of a contested election, papers will be despatched by post at least 8
weeks before the date set for the close of voting. The voting papers sent to alumni
will include
details of the number of vacant seats, number of candidates and also those
candidates who are standing for re-election.
Candidate Questionnaires, and details of their nominators, or details of how to
access these on Portal.
Ballot paper or options for voting, and information on how to vote.
The closing date.
Information on how and when the vote will be declared.
Accidental omission to send any member of the alumni body voting papers will
not invalidate the election.
9.3 Candidate nomination forms and Questionnaires will also be posted on Portal (or its
successor). The election will be announced on the Portal page which provides full
information regarding the election.
9.4 The ballot paper will be in such form as the GNC will determine at the time of the
notification of each election. Voting will normally be on the ballot paper supplied which
may be submitted by:
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Posting
Hand delivery
Facsimile
Email from a valid email address (see 3.4)
Such other medium as may become available and as agreed by the GNC
Other voting mechanisms, such as electronic voting, may be used. However, whatever
voting mechanism is used, systems will be put in place to ensure there is no duplication of
voting and that there are adequate safeguards regarding security.
9.5 Each alumnus may submit one ballot paper only and candidates can vote for themselves.
Duplicate, incomplete and illegible ballot papers will be declared invalid and the Returning
Officer‟s decision on this will be final.
9.6 All votes received, whether by post, email or other means, will be stored confidentially in
hard copy or appropriate durable medium and kept in a secure location; totals will not be
available to anyone other than the individual processing the votes until after the closing
date.
10. The Count and Notification of Results
10.1 Votes will be counted within five working days of the closing of voting. The Returning
Officer, or agents if appointed, shall be responsible for the arrangements for the count,
including verification and checking. In the event of any uncertainty about the validity of a
vote the Returning Officer‟s decision shall be final.
10.2 If there is a tie between any two or more candidates, and the addition of one vote to any of
the candidates would have enabled that candidate to be elected, the Returning Officer will
decide between the candidates by drawing lots in the presence of a witness.
10.3 The Returning Officer is responsible for announcing the results of an election. Subject to
12.1 below, the results will be notified to candidates within 5 working days of the count,
and subsequently published for the alumni body.
11. Code of Conduct
11.1 Whilst candidates may canvass, the GNC wishes to ensure that canvassing is kept at an
appropriate level; not intrusive for members of the alumni body; and does not misuse
communication channels established for other purposes. For this reason, a discussion
forum will be provided on Portal for canvassing purposes, but access to other School
communication channels for canvassing is restricted.
11.2 Canvassing is only permitted from the time candidates are publicly announced until the
close of voting.
11.3 Candidates may only canvass their own class and other individual alumni known to them.
In this context “known to” implies a prior relationship with the person i.e. that both parties
have met or communicated with each other. The emphasis is also placed upon “individual”,
so that any canvassing for votes (other than own class) must be at an individual, not group,
level.
11.4 In canvassing, candidates must also:
Comply with any email rules/ regulations set by the School.
Ensure that communications with any alumni not in their class are on an individual basis
e.g. not using group email, or fliers.
Respect people‟s wishes i.e. if someone asks not be contacted.
Limit the amount of canvassing materials. Unless specifically asked to send information to
someone, candidates should not send more than two communications of any sort to the
same person.
Ensure that no canvassing is undertaken prior to the closing date for nominations.
Candidates are required to respect the intent of this code and desist from any form of
canvassing not in the spirit of the code, even if not listed above. If a candidate has any
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doubt abut the validity of proposed canvassing, the advice of the Returning Officer should
be sought.
11.5 Candidates may request other alumni known to them to canvass on their behalf, but
anyone canvassing on behalf of a candidate is also subject to this code of conduct and the
restrictions set out above. Candidates will be held responsible for all canvassing
undertaken on their behalf.
11.6 Candidates are required to agree to these procedures, and this code, as part of the
nomination procedure. Failure to act within the procedures and code could lead to the
candidate being withdrawn from the election. In particular candidates could be disqualified
for:
Being asked by the Returning Officer to stop canvassing in a particular way and not doing
so.
Falling to comply with the restrictions set out in 11.2 and 11.3 above.
11.7 The members of the GNC must be seen to be impartial at all times. Committee members
must not nominate or second candidates nor may they campaign for any one candidate or
canvass support from the wider alumni body.
12. Breaches of Procedures
12.1 During the election the Returning Officer is responsible for dealing with all breaches of the
election procedures including the code of conduct for candidates. S/he may take whatever
action is necessary in regard to such a breach, including disqualification of a candidate. If
however, the Returning Officer feels that the matter requires the consideration of the GNC,
and it is not possible to convene a meeting until after the election, the announcement of
the results will be delayed until consideration of the matter by the Committee.
12.2 Any questions over the handling of the election process should be addressed to the
Returning Officer. If a member of the alumni body has a complaint or concern, or
considers that there was been a breach in the procedures, the matter should be referred
to the Returning Officer before the result is announced.
Definitions
Alumni status is described in a separate document Alumni Status and is
Alumni available to alumni
The solicitation of votes and / or support in regard to election to the
International Alumni Board by, or on behalf of a candidate.
Canvassing
Anyone who has alumni status on the date when election Candidate
Questionnaires are published and any student whose completion of a degree
Eligible alumni
programme is marked by a Congregation ceremony in the calendar year the
election takes place is entitled to stand, nominate and vote.
The Election The election of members of the International Alumni Board.
The International Alumni Board of London Business School, its successors
IAB
or predecessors
Governance
and The committee appointed by the IAB whose remit includes definition and control of
Nominations these election procedures.
(GNC)
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Made public or generally available in any written form or any electronic form,
Published
including on the internet and email.
The Returning Officer appointed by the GNC, or any agent appointed by the
Returning Returning Officer to act on his / her behalf. If no appointment this been
Officer made by the GNC, the Chair of the Committee shall be the Returning
Officer.
The School London Business School
The usual signature of the individual in written form, unless otherwise specified in
Signature
the procedures.
Week Any period of seven days.
A working day in London, defined as beginning at 9am and finishing at 5pm
Working Day every Monday to Friday except for days declared as national holidays
(called „bank holidays‟)
Appendix 1
Members Role
IAB members represent and promote alumni issues of interest to the whole alumni community
or specific alumni groups within the existing framework of the International Alumni Board (IAB)
and London Business School.
In addition to representing these interests, the role of an IAB member is also to:
work within the IAB‟s terms of reference and governance structure
contribute to the work of the IAB, its Task Forces and Committees and also to:
represent the alumni body and serve as a positive advocate of alumni interests
listen to and represent the evolving needs of the alumni community and ensure that
alumni concerns are brought to the attention of the IAB for representation to the
School
foster alumni networks (e.g. class, geographical, professional) that engender a
climate of lifelong support and belonging to create an active alumni community
serve as a role model by being actively involved with London Business School and its
alumni community
act as an ambassador for London Business School.
Members are expected to fulfil this role in the following ways:
Prepare for, attend regularly, and participate actively in IAB meetings.
Actively participating in the work of at least one Task Force and/or subcommittee,
whether in person or by teleconference
Volunteer to undertake work as agreed by a Task Force or Task Force subcommittee.
Represent the Alumni community both externally and by attending School events in
their country of residence or when travelling
Participate in alumni activities and networks.
Members are required to contribute financial support to London Business School.
IAB Members who are Executive Committee (ExCo) members will also be expected to:
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Attend and participate regularly in ExCo meetings
Act as a Task Force or Committee Chair
Be actively involved in the life of the School, wherever possible to include on-campus
activities and meetings.
IAB members who are elected Task Force or Committee Chairs will also be expected to:
Co-ordinate the work of their Task Force or Committee
In collaboration with ExCo and their Task Force members, decide on appropriate
working methods for their Task Force
Set agendas and work programmes in collaboration with the School
Record the recommendations and outcomes of the Task Force meetings and move to
see that they are subsequently implemented and communicated to the wider alumni
community under the agreed alumni communication framework
Ensure that Task Force/Committee decisions and recommendations are
communicated to ExCo.
Supporting London Business School
IAB members should be especially aware of the need to support London Business School in
improving participation in the Annual Fund, not least because of its relevance in rankings but
also because of its impact on corporate and foundation donors who take alumni support into
account in making giving decisions. [Alumni support sends a strong message to external
audiences that the entire School community supports the School‟s vision.] The School looks
to IAB and other Board members to act as role models by giving at a level commensurate
with their means.
Approved; Governance and Nominations Committee, 20 April 06
April 2008