Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations (These Regulations are made pursuant to Article 44 of the Constitution.)
Amended to 04/02/2014
Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Table of Contents Part I: Part II: Part III: Part IV: Part V: Part VII: Part VIII: Part IX: Part X: Part XI: Part XII: Part XIII: Part XIV:
General …………………………………… Electoral Commission …………………… Electors …………………………………… Nomination …………………………………… Candidates …………………………………… Elections …………………………………… Voting System …………………………… Candidate Forum …………………………… Polling …………………………………… Counting of Ballets …………………………… Announcement & Conclusion of Results ….…… Complains …………………………………… Supplementary Provision ……………………
P. 3 P. 4 – 5 P. 6 P. 7 P. 8 P. 9 P. 10 – 11 P. 12 – 13 P. 14 – 16 P. 17 P. 17 P. 18 P. 18
Schedule 1:
Details of Single Transferable Vote System
P. 19
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part I: General 1
Interpretation In these regulations: “Absolute Majority” means over 50% of total valid votes. “Commission” means the Electoral Commission. “Elections” means the General Meeting as defined in Article 43 of the Constitution. “Electors” bears the same meaning as in Section 10 of these regulations. “Executive” means the Executive Committee as defined in Article 34 of the Constitution. “Full Member” bears the same meaning as in Article 12 of the Constitution. “General Secretary” bears the same meaning as “Secretary” in the Constitution. “Seat” means the seat(s) that are declared opened in elections. “Union” means Warwick Students’ Union
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Jurisdiction All general meetings for the purposes of electing members of the Executive shall be governed by these regulations.
3
Selections of Members of the Executive (1) All members of the Executive shall only be elected by the Electors in Elections. (2) No candidates in any election shall be automatically elected.
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Power & Duties of the Executive & Electoral Commission The Executive and the Electoral Commission shall exercise power and duties listed these regulations.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part II: Electoral Commission 5
Formation of the Electoral Commission (1) The electoral commission shall consist of the following officials: (a) An Election Officer; (b) Returning Officers, (2) Selection of officials shall be ratified by General Meeting upon the nomination of the Executive.
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Powers & Duties of the Election Officer The election officer shall exercise the following powers and duties: (1) To chair the commission; (2) To receive nominations; (3) To preside over elections; (4) To confirm the eligibility of candidates; (5) To maintain the order of elections; (6) To order a person whose conduct is grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately from any elections until the polling sessions start; (7) To administer polling; and (8) To call reopen elections.
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Powers & Duties of the Returning Officers The returning officers shall exercise the following powers and duties: (1) To open the ballot boxes; (2) To court the ballots; (3) To interpret the results of election; and (4) To announce the results of election.
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Powers & Duties of the Electoral Commission The electoral commission shall exercise the following power and duties: (1) To conduct elections, polling and counting; and (2) To submit the concluded results to the Executive for confirmation.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations 9
Terms of the Electoral Commission (1) The Commission shall be non-permanent, and shall only be convened by the order of the Executive. (2) The term of office shall expire beyond convening another Annual General Meeting held in the subsequent academic year or when the Executive thinks fit.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part III:
Electors
10
Eligibility of Electors Only Full Members who are included in the final register of electors shall be considered as Electors. (See Section 12 – 12B of these regulations)
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Voting Rights of Electors (1) Only Electors shall be entitled to vote in any election. (See Article 45 of the Constitution) (2)
Nothing here in these regulations shall prevent an Elector to exercise his right to vote in any election.
12
Final Register of Electors (1) The registration of the final register of electors shall be closed 2 days before the nomination period starts. (2) The General Secretary shall prepare and publish the final register of electors 1 day before the nomination period starts. (3) The registration of the final register of electors shall only be reopened when the next committee is entirely formed.
12A
Effect of the Final Register The final register of electors takes effect on the date of its publication and continues to have effect until the next register of electors is published.
12B
Details of the Final Register (1) The final register of electors shall include following information of the Full Members who are included in the Union’s Membership system: (a) Warwick Student Numbers; (b) First names; and (c) Last names. (2) The General Secretaty shall take any necessary measure in accordance with the rules of the Union to protect privacy of members.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part IV:
Nomination
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Eligibility to be Nominated (1) Only the Electors shall be nominated for elections. (2) No Members of the Electoral Commission shall be entitled to stand for elections.
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Nomination Period Nomination periods for any Election shall open and close on the dates as specified by the Executive.
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Submission of Nominations All nominees shall submit the nomination forms with their manifestos to the Election Officer via the ways which the Election Officer shall think appropriate.
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Accessibility to Manifestos Before the day in which all manifestos are officially published, all manifestos shall only be accessible by the Election Officer.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part V: Candidates 17
Confirmation of Nomination The Election Officer shall determine the validity of nominations and confirm the eligibility of the nominees within 48 hours once the nomination period ends.
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Rights of Candidates All Candidates shall have the following rights: (1) The right to withdraw from elections; (2) The right to vote freely; (3) The right to reject any ballot box without providing any reason thereof; (4) The right to monitor both polling and counting without permission or hindrance; and (5) The right to lodge complaint concerning the conduct of the ballot or the count to the Commission.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part VI: Elections 19
Types of Elections There shall be three types of election as construed in accordance with the Article 43 of the constitution: (1) General elections; (2) Reopen elections; and (3) By-elections.
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Times & Places for Elections (1) The Executive shall appoint such times and places for elections. Such notices shall specify the place, the date and the hour. (2) The Executive shall issue at 14-day prior notice in writing for all elections except reopen elections. (3) The Executive shall issue at 7-day prior notice in writing for reopen elections.
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Quorum (1) (2)
Any elections and polling sessions shall begin only when a quorum is presented within 15 minutes after the time appointed for it. The quorum of all elections is 20% of all Full Members.
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Structure of Elections There shall be 3 sections in any elections: (1) Candidate Forum; (2) Polling; and (3) Counting of ballets.
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Language Elections shall be conducted in either or both Cantonese and English.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part VII: Voting System 24
Voting System of Single-seat Elections All single-seat elections shall be conducted under the First-past-the-post system (FPTP).
24A
Voting System of the First Round Single-seat Elections (1) A candidate in the First Round single-seat elections shall be declared as elected only when he gets the Absolute Majority. (2) If no candidate gets the Absolute Majority, a Second Round single-seat election shall be conducted.
24B
Voting System of the Second Round Single-seat Elections (1) This election shall be conducted within 10 minutes after the announcement of results of First Round single-seat elections. (2) For elections of the President and the Vice President, a confidential vote shall be conducted on the leading candidate. (3) For elections of other single-seat posts, a vote shall be conducted between top two candidates. (4) A candidate in the Second Round single-seat elections shall be declared as elected only when he gets the Absolute Majority.
24C
Deadlocked First Round Single-seat Elections (1) A First Round single-seat election except that of the President and the Vice President shall be deemed in deadlock when: (a) No candidate gets the Absolute Majority; and (b) It fails to send only two leading candidates to a Second Round single-seat election. (2) Any deadlocked First Round single-seated elections shall be conducted by the Election Officer for the second time within 10 minutes after the announcement of results of the original First Round single-seat election.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations 25
Voting System of Multiple-seat Elections All elections with multiple seats shall be conducted under the Single Transferrable Vote system (STV) with methods and procedures described in Schedule 1.
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Declaration of Reopen Elections In any election, a seat shall be declared reopened for nominations when: (1) The “R.O.N.” option is selected; or (2) The leading candidate ties with “R.O.N.”; or (3) A First Round single-seat election is deemed in deadlock twice; or (4) No candidate gets the Absolute Majority in a Second Round single-seat election.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part VIII: Candidate Forum 27
Structure of the Candidate Forum The candidate forum shall be divided as following sections: (1) Speech; (2) Debate section; and (3) Question Time
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Speech (1) (2)
Each candidate should give a speech for no longer than 3 minutes. Candidates are expected to present a project proposal in their speech.
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Debate Section (1) 3 minutes of speaking time shall be allocated to each candidate in debate section. (2) Without violating these regulations, candidates may freely use their speaking time. (3) This session does not apply to uncontested elections.
30
Question Time (1) In question time, all candidates are required to answer questions from the oor. (2) There are 3 parts in this section: (a) Main Questions; (b) Follow-up Questions; and (c) Replies. (3) All candidates shall be given fair and equal chance to reply. (4) This session will terminate should there is no more question within 30 seconds or when the Election Officer from time to time thinks fit.
30A
Time for a Main Question The time taken by a main question, including any follow-up questions and all answers, shall not exceed 8 minutes in total, of which not more than: (1) 30 seconds shall be used to ask a main question or a follow-up question; (2) 1 minute shall be used to reply.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations 30B
Contents of Questions (1) A main question shall conform to following rules: (a) A question shall be specific to only one or all candidates. (b) A question shall not include the names of persons, or statements which are not strictly necessary to make the question intelligible. (c) A question shall not contain independent questions or be so complex that it cannot reasonably be answered as a single question. (d) A question shall not be asked about the character or conduct of any person except in his official or public capacity. (2) A follow-up question shall conform to following rules: (a) A follow-up question shall conform rules listed in Section 30B (1). (b) A follow-up question shall be asked in accordance with the main question.
30BA
Questions not Conforming Rules (1) A main question or a follow-up question which does not conform rules listed in Section 30B shall be declared as an invalid question by the Election Officer. (2) Time taken by an invalid question shall not be counted in the total time of a main question. (See Section 30A in these regulations)
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part IX: Polling 31
Polling Station The polling station shall be specified by the Executive.
32
Ballot Papers The Commission shall design and prepare the ballot paper, and publish the samples of ballot papers where the Commission shall think fit 48 hours before elections take place.
32A
Design of Ballot Papers (1) Ballot papers of the First Round single-seat elections (see Section 24A of these regulations) shall include: (a) The name of seat; (b) The name of each candidate; and (c) “R.O.N.” (Reopen Nomination) option. (2) Ballot papers of the Second Round single-seat elections of the President and the Vice President (see Section 24B (2) of these regulations) shall include: (a) The name of seat; (b) Option “YES”; and (c) Option “NO”. (3) Ballot papers of the Second Round single-seat elections except that of the President and the Vice President (see Section 24B (3) of these regulations) shall include: (a) The name of seat; (b) Option “A”; and (c) Option “B”. (4) Ballot papers of multiple-seat elections (see Section 25 and Schedule 1 of these regulations) shall include two parts: (a) The first part shall include: (i) The name of seats; (ii) The name of each candidate; and (iii) A “No Further Preferences” (NFP) option. (b) The second part shall include: (i) A “None of the Above” (NOTA) option.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations 32AA
Supplementary Information of Ballot Paper of the Second Round Single-seat Elections (1) Name of the leading candidate in the Second Round single-seat elections of the President and the Vice President shall be clearly displaced in the polling station in the following format: (a) The name of seat; and (b) The name of the leading candidate. (2) Names of the two leading candidates in the Second Round single-seat elections except that of the President and the Vice President shall be clearly displaced in the polling station in the following format: (a) The name of seat; (b) Option “A” with the name of the first leading candidate; and (c) Option “B” with the name of the second leading candidate. (3)
32B
Polling sessions of the Second Round single-seat elections shall be conducted only when such information is presented.
Distribution of Ballot Papers (1) Ballot papers shall only be distributed to the Electors by members of the Executive after verification of members’ eligibility. (2) Only Electors who have received ballot papers may cast their votes. (3) Each Elector shall receive only one ballot paper for an election. (4)
The Election Officer shall announce the number of ballot being distributed immediately after the close of the polling.
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Polling Session (1) The Election Officer shall allow a polling session after the end of election(s). (2) Multiple polls are allowed to be conducted at the same time. (3) The Election Officer shall order the polling to be closed for counting after a reasonable time.
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Ballot Boxes (1) Checked and locked ballot boxes with the certificate signed by the Election Officer and one candidate shall be prepared. (2) The keys shall be kept by the Election Officer. (3) When a locked ballot box is unavailable, a checked and sealed ballot box shall be prepared instead.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations 35
Secret Ballot Voting shall be by secret ballot, and no proxy vote is allowed in all elections.
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Casting Votes Electors shall cast his vote by themselves only unless prior assistance request is made to the Commission for the reasons of physical disability.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part X: Counting of Ballots 37
Delivery of Ballot Boxes The ballot box shall be sealed and delivered to the Returning Officers immediately after the closing time of the polling at the place specified by the Executive as the counting centre in writing.
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Time for Counting Ballots Ballots shall be counted within half an hour after the closing time of the polling.
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Questionable Ballots (1) The Returning Officers may from time to time declare a ballot to be questionable. (2) Questionable ballots shall be examined by the Returning Officer under the all candidates concerned. (3) A vote shall be only rejected by the agreement of all candidates, and that vote shall be invalidated by the Returning Officer accordingly.
Part XI: Announcement and Conclusion of Results 40
Announcement of Results The results of election shall be made and announced by the Returning Officers immediately once the counting procedure is finished.
41
Conclusion of Results An election is said to be concluded if the Commission receive no complaint from candidates after the announcement of the result by the Returning Officer.
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Confirmation of Results (1) After the conclusion(s) of General Election and, if any, subsequent Reopen Election(s), the Election Officer shall issue a Notice of Election Results after receiving the Executive’s confirmation. (2) The Executive must confirm the results within 7 days.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Part XII: Complaint 43
Report Any complaint concerning the conduct of the ballot or the count shall be lodged with the Commission within 24 hours of the closing of the count.
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Investigation of Complaints (1) If a complaint is so lodged the Commission shall investigate and shall report its findings to the Executive without delay. (2) The Executive may refer the case to the Union for further investigations.
Part XIII: Supplementary Provision 45
Supplementary Documents (1) The Executive may publish election documents to explain the procedures and details of elections. (2) Such documents shall not have any binding power to the Society.
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Conflict In the case of conflict, these Regulations shall be determined by: (1) The Election Officer when the Commission exists; or (2) The President with and by the advice of the Executive when the Electoral Commission is unavailable.
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Procedure if Electoral Regulations do not Provide In any matter not provided in these regulations, the practice and procedure to be followed in any election shall be decided by the Election Officer with the advice of the Commission.
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Amendments The power to amend these regulations shall be vested in the general meetings.
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Warwick Hong Kong Public Affairs and Social Service Society Electoral Regulations
Schedule 1: Details of Single Transferable Vote System 1
How Voters vote? (1) Voters shall only complete either the first part or the second part of the ballot (see Section 32A (4) of these regulations). (2) A ballot with both parts completed shall be invalid. (3) Voters shall rank the candidates in order of preference in the first part of the ballot: (a) “1” next to the first choice candidate; (b) “2” next to the second choice; (c)
2
and so on until the voter is indifferent by entering “N.F.P.” (No further preferences). *(N.F.P.s are non-transferable)
Counting of Votes The counting of votes in STV shall follow the following principles: (1) The candidates with the votes passing the quota (as defined in paragraph (5) & (6)) shall be elected. (2) Elected candidates shall be eliminated, and any surplus votes of the elected candidates (total votes –quota) are redistributed to the candidates who were not eliminated according to the multiple of the transfervalue: (T=Surplus/Total votes received). *[(number of votes of remaining candidate) x T]. (3) If no candidate is elected under sub-paragraphs (1) or (2), the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and his vote shall be redistributed to the candidates who were not eliminated according to voters' next preferences. (4) If after counting all votes under sub-paragraph (1) to (3) there are seats remained unfilled, such seats shall be declared reopened for nominations. (5) The quota of STV in General Elections shall be defined as [(Valid votes cast/Seats to fill)] (Hare quota) (6) (7)
The quota of STV in Reopen Elections and Bye-Elections shall be defined as [(Valid votes cast/Seats to fill+1) +1] (Droop quota). In the event that the “N.O.T.A.” option receives half or more valid votes cast, all seats shall be declared reopened for nominations.
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