Call for Nominations: Election of New IFMBE Officers and Administrative Council Members

The next elections will take place in August 2003 in Sydney at the General Assembly of the World Congress. The terms of Officers and some Administrative Council members expire at that time (see below) and will have to be filled by new colleagues. We look forward to appropriate nominees to promote IFMBE activities worldwide.

Further information regarding nominations and elections is presented in this Call. For details please contact the office of the Secretary General, Dr Heikki Terio at heikki.terio@mta.hs.sll.se

Jean-Pierre Morucci
Chairman of the Nominating Committee
Past-President IFMBE

Vacancies for IFMBE Administrative Council posts are indicated as 'open'.

Procedure of the Elections

The Structure of the Federation

The direction of Federation business is the responsibility of the Administrative Council which comprises of eight elected members plus the president, vice-president, past president, treasurer and secretary-general.

Major decisions of the Administrative Council must be ratified by the General Assembly which is the ultimate authority of the IFMBE. The General Assembly comprises representatives of all affiliated organizations on a scale proportional to their respective enrollments.

The General Assembly

The control and direction of the policy and affairs of the Federation shall be vested in the General Assembly.

The General Assembly shall consist of the Delegates of the Member Organizations or their named alternates accredited as prescribed in the Bye-laws, together with the voting members of the Administrative Council and such Chairmen of committees as the Administrative Council shall decide. No individual member of the General Assembly shall have more than one vote. The function of the General Assembly shall be:

1. to establish the policy of the Federation,
2. to elect the officers of the Federation,
3. to elect members of the Administrative Council,
4. to receive, and to approve or reject, reports and recommendations of the Administrative Council,
5. to make recommendations to the Administrative Council as required,
6. to add or to amend the Constitution and Bye-laws as required, and
7. to initiate action to further the aims and objectives of the Federation as set out in Article 3 of this Constitution by means consistent with the Constitution and Bye-laws. A General Assembly shall be convened by the Administrative Council at such times and places as are prescribed in the Bye-laws. A meeting of the General Assembly will be convened by the Administrative Council on petition of at least twenty per cent of the Member organizations.
8. The business of the General Assembly may be carried out by mail as specified in the Bye-laws.

Nominating Committee

The Nominating Committee shall be responsible for preparing and presenting to the next Ordinary Session of the General Assembly a list of candidates eligible for election as Officers and Elected Members of the Administrative Council. Such a list shall be prepared at such times and in such a manner as prescribed in Bye-law 18:

Election of Officers and Members of the Administrative Council

The Vice-President shall be the President-Elect of the Federation.

1. The Vice-President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and elected members of the Administrative Council shall be elected by the General Assembly from a list of nominated members of the Member Organizations put forward by the Nominating Committee of the General Assembly.
2. At least 120 days before each Ordinary General Assembly Session, the Secretary-General shall notify the secretary of each Member Organization of listed Delegates and shall request notification of any amendments. He shall also request from them the names of any of their individual members which they would wish to have considered for nomination for Office or Council membership.
3. The Secretary-General shall forward to the Chairman and each member of the Nominating Committee a list of the Delegates and of the suggested names.
4. In preparing a list of nominated candidates for presentation to the General Assembly, the Nominating Committee shall first consider the list transmitted by the Secretary-General. It is then open to the Nominating Committee to add further names to the list from the individual membership of the Member Organizations if the Committee considers that it would be in the interest of the Federation to do so.
5. From that list the Nominating Committee shall prepare a final list of individuals for presentation to the General Assembly as nominated candidates. If it is feasible, this final list should provide, if possible, at least two candidates for election to each Office, together with at least two more nominations than the number of Council vacancies, and should have as wide a national representation as is consistent with the requirements of the positions. The consent of each candidate to be nominated shall be obtained in writing by the Chairman of the Nominating Committee before the list is presented to the General Assembly.
6. The final list shall be presented to the General Assembly at its Ordinary Session, and voting shall proceed in the following sequence: Vice-President, Secretary-General, Treasurer, and Council members. Unsuccessful candidates for the Offices of Vice-President, Secretary-General, and Treasurer, may if they so desire and are eligible, be added to the list of candidates for membership of the Council, but not for other Office. Voting shall be by a simple majority, any tied vote being determined on the vote of the presiding officer.
7. The voting for elected members of the Administrative Council shall be done simultaneously. Each member of the General Assembly may vote for the same number of candidates as the number of vacancies, normally four.
8. On occasion, due to a resignation, death or other circumstances, it may be necessary to hold an election between two sessions of the General Assembly. This shall be carried out by mail and the procedure shall be the same as for a normal election; however the timing of the stages of the nominating programme shall relate to the date on which it is proposed to send out the ballot papers and not to an Ordinary Session of the General Assembly.
9. To ensure continuity the Administrative Council may decide to hold the election for the post of Secretary-General or Treasurer of the Federation in advance of the next Ordinary Session of the General Assembly. An officer so elected will be known as the Secretary-General Elect or Treasurer Elect, and will not formally take the office until the next Ordinary Session; the term of office will therefore commence at that Session. The procedure of election shall be the same as for a normal election; the timing of the stages of the nominating programme shall relate to the dates on which it is proposed to send out the ballot papers and not to an Ordinary Session of the General Assembly.

Officers

The officers of the Federation shall be:

1. the President,
2. the Vice-President,
3. the Secretary-General, and
4. the Treasurer

Administrative Council

The affairs of the Federation shall be administered by an Administrative Council, whose voting members are:

1. the officers,
2. the immediate Past-President, and
3. eight members, elected by the General Assembly from the membership of the Member Organizations.

The Editor, the Deputy Editor, and all Committee Chairmen may attend Administrative Council Meetings if they so wish.

The President and the Administrative Council may both invite individuals to attend meetings of the Administrative Council.

The Administrative Council shall have full power to act on behalf of the Federation and to take such action in all matters of administration and policy, including conference policy, not expressly reserved by these Articles for the General Assembly, but in all its actions shall be responsible to the General Assembly.

A meeting of the Administrative Council shall be convened by the President or by a petition of at least thirty per cent of the voting members of the Administrative Council.

The business of the Administrative Council may be carried out by mail, as specified in the Bye-laws.

Term of Office of Officers and Members of the Administrative Council

1. Each elected officer of the Federation shall hold office from the end of the Ordinary Session of the General Assembly at which he was elected, or took up office, until his successor takes office.
2. An elected Council member shall hold office from the end of the Ordinary General Assembly which elected him until the end of the second succeeding Ordinary Session of the Ordinary General Assembly. Normally four members shall be elected at each session of the Ordinary General Assembly and no member may be re-elected as a Council member immediately upon the completion of his term.
3. The President and the Vice-President shall be eligible for election for a single term of office, after which one full term must elapse before they are again eligible for that office.
4. The Secretary-General, Treasurer, and Editor shall normally be eligible to hold office for two successive terms only but exceptionally may hold office for a maximum of three successive terms. After demitting office, one term must elapse before they are again eligible for the same office.
5. If no General Assembly has been held within a period of three and one half years, the President shall proceed with an election by mail if necessary, using the existing list of delegates and names, if any, and following the procedure in Bye-law l8(h).

Secretary-General

The Secretary-General shall be the executive officer of the Federation. He or she shall be responsible for the general conduct of the affairs of the Federation, and the maintenance of liaison between Member Organizations at all times. The Secretary-General shall maintain the following books and registers, and shall make them available to the Council and the General Assembly as required.

1. a minute book of the meetings of the General Assembly,
2. a minute book of the meetings of the Administrative Council,
3. a register of Member Organizations, including for each, the names and addresses of their current executive officers and Delegates to the General Assembly, and their current number of members,
4. a register containing the current Constitution and Bye-laws of each Member Organization,
5. a register of Observer Groups and the relevant officers,
6. a register of Honourary Life Members with their current addresses,
7. a register of the Chairmen and members of each Committee, Working Group, Division, and Board within the Federation,
8. a register of past officers, with their current addresses if these can be ascertained.

Treasurer

The Treasurer shall be responsible to the Administrative Council for the financial management of the Federation. He or she shall maintain the monies of the Federation in such bank accounts and other deposits as shall be directed by the Administrative Council, shall be responsible for the collection of dues and other monies as directed in the Constitution and Bye-laws, and shall maintain such books and accounts as the Council shall require. The working currency of the Federation shall be decided by the Administrative Council on the recommendation of the Treasurer. The Auditors of the accounts shall be appointed by the Administrative Council.