ELECTORAL AND MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Danièle Perrier (interim chair, Germany) Małgorzata Kaźmierczak (ex officio, Poland), Rui Cepeda (UK), Firat Arapoglu (Turkey), Mathilde Roman (France), Juan Carlos Flores Zuniga (Costa Rica), Carlos Acero Ruiz (Dominican Republic), Miguel Angel Chaves Martin (Spain), Marja-Terttu Kivirinta (Finland), Marie Luise Syring (Germany), Ching Weng Chang (Taiwan),

MISSION STATEMENT

Term
The term of each mandate is 1 year, with the possibility of being reelected by the members of the General Assembly.

Aims of the Committee
See article IV of the Regulations, entitled “Electoral and Membership Committee”:
 1. The Electoral and Membership Committee is elected by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Board, for a term of one year, renewable. All members of the Board are eligible to serve on the Electoral and Membership Commission and to propose their own candidature to the Secretary-General, in the first instance.
 2. The Committee makes recommendations to the Board and the General Assembly on all technical or legal matters relating to the adherence of National Sections, of the Open Section and of individual Members.
 3. The Committee comprises a minimum of six Members, proposed by the Board from its own membership, and elected by the General Assembly. It is broadly representative of the different geographical regions determined by the General Assembly. It normally includes at least one native speaker of each of the three official language groups of the Association.
 4. The Committee advises the Board, in writing, on the eligibility of National Sections for membership of the Association.
 5. The Statutes of the National Sections and of the Open Section, and any changes to these documents, are subject to approval by the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the Electoral and Membership Commission. From time to time, this Committee will monitor these Statutes and Regulations, to ensure that they are not in conflict with the International Statutes and Regulations, and that core requirements, such as the standard conditions for eligibility for membership have been observed.
 6. A member of the Committee reads out the names of all individual candidates for membership of the Association presented by the Presidents of the National Sections and of the Open Section at the General Assembly, for adoption by majority vote. The Assembly’s endorsement may not be withheld, other than for reasons which are legal or procedural.
 7. The Committee presents a carefully argued report, in support of any recommendation of its own to turn down an individual candidate’s application for membership of the Association. In instances such as this, the General Assembly may exercise its sovereign right to question, or even overrule, the Committee’s formal recommendation.
 8. The Electoral and Membership Committee is responsible for counting and determining the validity of all votes cast at the General Assembly and at meetings of the Board.
 9. The members of the Committee are charged with presenting a written report on their work. This report, and any ballot forms that may have been used, are held available on file for consultation by members of the Electoral and Membership Committee, in the event of any complaint about electoral procedures or demand for a recount of the votes cast.