Executive Committee Election Rules

(President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Baseline assumptions:

  • CLEI members are institutions (not persons).
  • Representatives are persons (not institutions).
  • A member must comply with the requirements (especially being up to date with payment); if it does not comply, it is not considered a member for the following purposes.
  • Each institution has a representative person.
  • All institutions belonging to the same country elect a representative person for the country.
  • For each representative person (institution or country), there is an substitutes.
  • All country representatives together, plus the President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Past President, constitute the steering committee. However, for the purpose of electing the new members of the Executive Committee (President, Secretary and Treasurer), only the country representatives have the right to vote.

What is elected?

The members of the next Executive Committee are elected: President, Secretary and Treasurer. If the election takes place in year X, the term of the incoming Executive Committee is from January 1 of year X+1 to December 31 of year X+2.

When is the election held?

At a face-to-face session during the CLEI conference in even-numbered years.

Who can be elected?

  • All country representatives of the Steering Committee and their substitutes, and all members of the Executive Committee, current or from any previous term, as long as they currently belong to a CLEI member institution, not extraterritorial, have not held the same position previously for two terms, and in the case of the President and Executive Secretary, have a PhD in areas related to Informatics and have an outstanding academic career in the same area.

Who may elect?

Each country representative of the period that is culminating.

What is the election process?

  • At the face-to-face meeting in the year prior to the voting, the CD appoints a Postulation Committee, made up of the last three past-presidents of CLEI in a position to participate.
  • The Postulation Committee receives the proposed slates (consisting of candidates for the three positions: President, Secretary, Treasurer, affiliated to CLEI member institutions in three different countries) and checks eligibility.
  • The lists are proposed by CLEI member institutions, and must arrive at least 90 days before the CLEI conference. To propose a list, it must be endorsed by at least five member institutions, from three different countries (extraterritorial counts as a single country). The Postulation Committee receives and checks the eligibility of such lists (decisions cannot be appealed).
  • The Postulation Committee communicates the received and eligible lists to the CD members at least 30 days prior to the CLEI conference.
  • If no lists have arrived by the deadline, the Committee will allow an additional 30 days to consult with the members regarding the submission of postulations. If no lists have been nominated by this deadline, the Postulation Committee shall itself make one or more list proposals to be submitted to the CD.
  • A meeting of the country representatives of the CD is scheduled during the CLEI conference, prior to the assembly, with the election of the Executive Committee as the only item on the agenda (this meeting is independent of the regular meeting of the CD). At this meeting, the country representatives physically present vote from among the lists presented (secret ballot). The meeting is chaired by a member of the Postulation Committee designated for this purpose. If no member of the Postulation Committee is able to participate, the meeting is chaired by a member of the outgoing Executive Committee who is not a candidate on any of the lists. If this is also not possible, it is chaired by a former member of the CD who is not a candidate on any of the lists.
  • If a slate has more than half of the votes over the total number of voters present, it is appointed.
  • If no list reaches that number of votes, a second round is held between the two most voted lists, and the list with the highest number of votes between the two is designated.
  • If this second ballot ends in a tie, a third ballot is held. If the third ballot also ends in a tie, a drawing of lots is held between the two lists.

Guidelines for members of the Steering Committee

  • Maintain the current mechanisms, according to which the representatives of CLEI member institutions of each country designate their titular representative and his/her substitute in the Assemblies, every two years.
  • It is suggested that the member institutions of each country establish a participatory procedure for the designation of the country representative and his/her substitute, and that they inform the Steering Committee of the process followed.
  • Indicate a maximum of 3 consecutive terms for the incumbent representative of a country.
  • In the event that no member representative from a country is present at the assembly, conduct a subsequent electronic supplementary vote to designate the representatives of that country.