ELECTORAL GUIDELINES FOR COUNCIL ELECTIONS

ELECTORAL GUIDELINES FOR COUNCIL ELECTIONS

GUIDELINES FOR THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED SECRETARIES AND ADMINISTRATORS OF NIGERIA (ICSAN) COUNCIL ELECTIONS

GUIDELINES FOR THE INSTITUTE OF CHARTERED SECRETARIES AND ADMINISTRATORS OF NIGERIA (ICSAN) COUNCIL ELECTIONS

ELECTORAL GUIDELINES FOR COUNCIL ELECTIONS

  1. By virtue of Paragraph 6 of the First Schedule to the ICSAN Act and other relevant regulations of the Institute, the mandate of the Electoral Committee is to conduct elections to fill the five (5) vacancies on the Governing Council.

PURSUANT to the above, the Electoral Committee of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria, hereby issues the following Guidelines for the conduct of the elections into the Governing Council of the Institute.

1.0          DATE AND TIME OF  ELECTIONS INTO ICSAN GOVERNING COUNCIL

  1. The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) Council elections for year 2023 shall be conducted within four days, from 23rd  to 26th June, 2023

2.0     QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

2.1   There shall be no campaign during the period of the election.

        Sensitisation for the elections shall commence by June during an election year

2.2          All Candidates and their Endorsers must have paid their annual subscriptions fully for five years prior to the commencement of the elections and fulfilled all other financial obligations to the Institute (in full) as of 31st March, 2023 , both at the National and State Chapter Levels. Endorsement shall be by two respectable members of the Institute (Two Fellows or one Fellow and one Associate)

2.3          All members of the Institute shall be eligible to vote at the Council elections: PROVIDED THAT such members must have paid their annual subscriptions from the commencement of membership to date.

3.0          NOMINATION FORMS

3.1          The Nomination Forms for election into Governing Council of the Institute shall be available for download on the Institute’s website – www.icsan.org. Or CLICK HERE to DOWNLOAD

3.2          Candidates must submit duly completed Nomination Forms in a sealed envelope together with one passport-sized photograph at the National Secretariat of the Institute on/before 5.00 p.m. on, 4th June, 2022 (where physical submission) is desired or on or before 5.00 p.m. on , 4th June, 2023  to ceo@icsan.org  (where electronic submission is preferred). Nomination Forms submitted electronically should be accompanied by an electronic copy of the passport photograph of the Candidates.

3.3          Each Candidate shall, upon submission of the Nomination Forms, be issued with a duly signed Acknowledgement Slip as evidence of the return of the Nomination Form. Candidates who submit their Nomination Forms electronically shall receive an acknowledgment of receipt by email within two (2) hours of receipt of the forms.

3.4          Where physical copies of duly completed Nomination Forms are submitted, the envelopes used for returning the Forms should be marked on the right-hand side: “Election of Member of ICSAN Governing Council”. Where submission of the duly completed Nomination Form is by electronic means, the email used in submitting the Form shall similarly have as its subject: “Election of Member of ICSAN Governing Council”.

3.5          Completed application forms should be accompanied with a copy of the profile of the Candidates which shall comprise of not more than 1000 words and shall highlight the contributions of the Candidate to the Institute, the industry or economic sector in which the Candidate operates and to national development in general.

3.6          The Nomination Form for each Candidate shall be endorsed by a member of the Institute who is qualified to vote and be voted for. A Council Member can attest to the form of more than one candidate.

3.7          All Nomination Forms and supporting documents must be sealed at the point of submission.

4.0          SCREENING OF CANDIDATES

4.1          The Electoral Committee shall following the closure of Nominations of Candidates on Saturday , 9th June 2023 , conduct a screening exercise to confirm the eligibility of each candidate to contest the election into the Governing Council in line with the ICSAN Act and other Regulations made by the Institute.

5.0          PUBLICATION OF LIST OF NOMINATED CANDIDATES

5.1          Following the closure of nominations of Candidates on 3rd June 2023, the Electoral Committee shall no later than 5.00 p.m. on Tuesday , 9th June, 2023 , publish the ‘List of Nominated Candidates” together with a brief profile of each Candidate which shall be based on the information provided by each Candidate in the Nomination Form and accompanying profile.

5.2          The List of Nominated Candidates shall be published electronically to members on the communication platforms of the Institute.

6.0     RULES GOVERNING THE PROCESS OF THE ELECTION

6.1          No Candidate shall employ the use of offensive or derogatory language or messages or comments that are meant to disparage other candidate(s) neither would the use of comments invoking regional, sectional, religious and any other partisan biases or sentiments be permitted during the electioneering process.

6.2          The publication, printing or distribution of any “campaign materials” in the form of gifts and souvenirs of any type by Candidates and/or their supporter(s) is strictly prohibited.

6.3          No candidate shall entice, induce or coerce any member of the Institute with a view to influencing the choice of such member in the election.

6.4          The Electoral Committee may prohibit any activities which it considers to be obnoxious, inconsistent with each member’s right to privacy or which may lead to a breakdown of law and order.

6.5          The decision of the Electoral Committee as to the suitability or appropriateness of any conduct or activity carried out during the electioneering process shall be final.

6.6          A Candidate who violates any of the requirement of the preceding paragraph or who fails to comply with a direction or decision of the Electoral Committee in respect of appropriateness of the process for the elections may be disqualified from participating in the elections.

6.7          FIT AND PROPER PERSON

For the purpose of these elections’ candidates must be fit and proper persons.

 Definition :

In these guidelines, the following terms shall have the meaning assigned to them herein:

“ Fitness ” refers to the competence and the capacity of a candidate to fulfil the responsibilities of being a member of the Council;“ Propriety ” refers to the integrity and suitability requirements for the same position.

For the purposes of these Guidelines, an individual is deemed to be “fit and proper “ if having regard to the criteria stipulated herein, such individual is suitable to effectively, efficiently and honestly carry out the responsibilities that align with the position of a Council Member.

In determining a candidate’s suitability for the position of a Council Member, the following criteria shall be considered.

(I) The candidate must be of good character and must not have had a previous criminal conviction.

(ii) The candidate must have the appropriate qualifications (minimum of ACIS) and relevant experience (minimum 10 years work experience and must have reached mid-level management) showing competence and skill.

(iii) The candidate must be of sound mind, showing a caring and compassionate nature and appropriate aptitude.

(iv) The candidate must not be an un discharged bankrupt, have a history of bankruptcy, is not subject of a bankruptcy restriction order or an order to like effect made in a court of law in Nigeria.

(v) The candidate must not have been responsible for, or known, contributed to or facilitated any serious misconduct or mismanagement in carrying on a regulated activity for which the person may have been disciplined, suspended by a regulatory or professional body publicly, privately or otherwise sanctioned by the court.

(vi) The candidate must not have been dismissed, directed to resign or has resigned from employment or from a position of trust, fiduciary appointment or similar position on account of dishonesty and or lack of integrity.

6. 8 Criteria for returning to the Governing Council

Returning Council members must have scored 70% at the minimum in the previous Council evaluation.

7.0    REGULATIONS FOR ELECTRONIC VOTING

7.1          The election shall be conducted electronically. Eligible voters shall cast their votes in accordance with voting guidelines to be issued by the Electoral Committee for a secure, transparent, easy and convenient voting exercise.

8.0    ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS OF THE ELECTIONS

8.1          At the close of the elections at the time stipulated in these Guidelines, the results of the elections shall be formally announced at the next Annual General Meeting of the Institute.

9.0          GENERAL

9.1          Top of Form

Any Candidate who is aggrieved or dissatisfied with the decision of the screening exercise conducted by the Electoral Committee in respect of his nomination may, within twenty-four (24) hours of the announcement of duly qualified candidates, submit an appeal against such decision of the Electoral Committee. The Electoral Committee shall, upon receipt of any such appeal consider the same expeditiously and communicate its decision to such Candidate and members of the Institute within twenty-four (24) hours of the receipt of the appeal.

9.2          Any Candidate who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Electoral Committee shall, within twenty-four (24) hours of the decision of the Electoral Committee, submit an appeal to the Governing Council of the Institute. The decision of the Governing Council in respect of any such appeal shall be final.

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