The Presidency of the Society is a post of great influence within the profession. That being so, the election of the President can from time to time prove to be controversial, particularly when there is a lack of consensus on major issues.
In the past, any controversy has, however, generally been hidden from view: the "real" election has taken place in private on the first day of the June Council meeting and the result re-enacted in public in an atmosphere of sweetness and light on the next and where the only nominee is the successful candidate in the real election. This approach has become increasingly unacceptable to some, and the privacy of the procedure has been breached by the leaking of the private voting figures. This has been the case for the past two elections and could be expected to continue. The Council, therefore, had no alternative but to re-examine the procedures concerned.
The first decision made was that the "real" election should be held during the public part of Council proceedings (PJ, December 11, 1999, p942). Subsequently, this decision was further augmented, as this week's issue makes clear (see p796). Any Council member will now be able to put themselves forward for election as President and all candidates will be required to produce a 1,000-word address to show how they measure up to the job and to set out their policies. These manifestos will be made public after the vote.
We will not have to wait long to see the new procedure tested in practice - two weeks to be precise. We do not necessarily expect any less controversy, but what there is will be accompanied by more transparency, which is something that members in their current mood will generally welcome.