Last week saw the first election by the Council of the President and other Officers of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society in the new, open manner (see p908). There had been no private election behind closed doors the night before with the winners being the only candidates in the public version of the election the next day. But, in the event, nothing seemed to have changed. There was only one candidate each for the posts of President and Vice-President, and they were proposed and seconded by their supporters in the familiar manner. Each was duly elected. The system was not proved in a contested election.
However, that was not the case in respect of the post of Treasurer, where things did not run so smoothly. There was a proposer and a seconder for the incumbent (Mr Appelbe), but when a second candidate (Mr Allen) nominated himself at the last minute - as is now allowed - order was restored by asking Mr Appelbe to do likewise. With both candidates now having nominated themselves, the Council decided that it did not want to hear any supporting speeches, thus frustrating the wishes of Mr Appelbe's proposer and seconder. Since there were no supporting speeches and neither candidate said anything about their personal abilities and what they hoped to achieve, the Council was not as informed as it might have been when it came to the vote. Some members of the Council expressed private misgivings over this part of the election process. Clearly, procedures will need to be tightened for next year.