WORLD ASSOCIATION FOR PERSON-CENTERED AND

EXPERIENTIAL PSYCHOTHERAPY AND COUNSELING 

 Board Election Procedure 2006 

NOMINATION & VOTING PROCEDURE

- The election procedure is based on our existing Statutes & Bylaws and will be carried out before the Conference & GA.
- This nomination and voting procedure has been ratified by the GA of 2003.

 Voting procedure and instructions

• The Election is conducted by the Election committee, appointed by the Board.

• All individual members of the Association are entitled to be a candidate in the election. Nominations are invited in the Newsletter and on the WAPCEPC website.

• Voting papers and instructions are sent out by the election committee.

• All members who have paid their dues for 2006, by the 15^th May, will receive the voting papers and instructions.

• Votes should be sent to the address of the Election Committee by e-mail, fax or postal mail before 30 May 2006.

• Each paid-up member will have one vote. Organizations will have the number of votes according to membership as laid out in the Bylaws.

• Those nine prospective board members who receive the highest numbers of votes will be duly elected (if they received a vote of at least 33% of those who sent their votes, individual and organizational members taken separately).

The members are allowed to vote for a maximum of nine out of all candidates, but they are told that they can vote for less; if they vote for more, their vote is invalid. 

Confidentiality

The Committee will maintain confidentiality. They give to the Board the number of votes on each candidate, but never who has been voting for them.

To guarantee the anonymity still more, the concrete procedure will be as follows: each member receives two sheets (with logo of WAPCEPC), one containing the names of the nominees and a possibility to tick them (without the name of the voter) and one with his/her name and address. These two voting sheets should be the only ballot papers. They should be sent back simultaneously either as two e-mail attachments or as two sheets (fax, postal mail). The committee should separate the two parts before counting the votes without the names. Both packages of sheets should be preserved until six months after the Conference & GA (in case of protest against the results).

Votes of individual and organizational members

The voting sheets of organization members should be marked and kept separately. Those persons who have at least 33% of those voting in both separate groups of members (individual and organizational) are listed in the separate lists. Those (a maximum of nine) with the highest average rank (on the basis of their ranks in both lists) are elected.

In case not enough members are elected, the GA can add up to 9 members. People who were nominees for the mailed ballot can candidate again if they wish. Again, to be elected candidates need at least 33% of the individual and organizational votes at the GA (including proxy votes).

The results of the ballot will be sent to the Board before June 15 and given at the General Assembly.

The newly elected Board will take up its duties at the end of the Assembly. Upon their election, the successful candidates will choose the following posts from among their number:
    Chair of the Association
    Treasurer of the Association
    Secretary of the Board

Election results will be notified to the membership in the WAPCEPC Newsletter of September 2006.