Steps to take if you are seeking election to the Council
The Society offers the following guidance for those members considering seeking election to the new Council
So, if you believe have something to offer the Society, if you fit
the profile, if you are not fazed by the responsibilities, how do you
go
about getting yourself elected to the reformed Council? The election
timetable begins with this issue of The Journal, in which an
Official Notice (p31)
names all 21 elected Council members as retiring in May. The change of
constitution means that all current Council members will
stand down in 2005, although some may be re-elected or reappointed.
The 17 vacancies for elected pharmacists will consist of 14 unreserved
places, and one place reserved to each of the three national constituencies,
which will be: England, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands; Scotland;
and Wales. Pharmacists filling the reserved places will be elected by
ballot of pharmacists whose addresses in the Register are in the relevant
national constituency.
A separate Official
Notice calls for nominations to fill the 17 vacancies
for elected pharmacists. Because the election regulations have had to
be re-gazetted under the new Charter (PJ, 11 December 2004, p863), this
call for nominations is being made on a conditional basis, as the election
regulations will not be approved until February. The notice will be repeated
weekly until just before the closing date for nominations, which this
year will be noon on 25 February. It should be noted that this year the
deadline for receipt of all the supporting material, including the candidate’s
photograph and election statement, is the same as the deadline for the
nominations.
Candidates successful in this year’s election should be aware that
the three pharmacists elected in national constituencies, the pharmacy
technician elected with the highest number of votes and the three pharmacists
elected with the highest numbers of votes to places on the Council not
reserved to a national constituency shall be elected for a period of
three years. The six pharmacists elected with the next highest numbers
of votes to places not reserved to a national constituency and the other
pharmacy technician member shall be elected for a period of two years.
The remaining five pharmacists elected to the Council shall be elected
for a period of one year (all periods to be from May 2005, when the reformed
Council takes office). This is necessary in order to establish a rolling
programme of retirement from the new Council. At subsequent elections
(other than by-elections) elected members of the Council will be elected
for a three-year term.
Nomination
Nomination forms and guidance papers are available from Averil Ridgway
(tel 020 7572 2204; e-mail averil.ridgway@rpsgb.org). Once you have
obtained a nomination form, the next stage is to persuade others to
sign it. Nominators should be persons eligible to vote for the candidate
they are nominating. However, nominators are no longer required to
be from the same branch of the Society as the candidate. In other words,
a candidate for one of the pharmacist places not reserved to a national
constituency must be nominated by 10 pharmacists from any branch. A
candidate for one of the three pharmacist places reserved to a national
constituency must be nominated by 10 pharmacists whose registered addresses
are within that constituency (from any branch). Finally, a prospective
candidate may not be one of the nominators for his own candidature.
The credentials of your nominators will be checked before the Society
accepts your nomination form, and it may be worth collecting one or two
extra names in case any of them presents a problem. Nominators’ names
are not published.
Gaining nominations should not be difficult if your branch is an active
one and you regularly attend its meetings. If you do not know enough
potential supporters, you may have to grit your teeth and stride into
a selection of local hospital and community pharmacies with your nomination
form in your hand and an outline of your policies in your head. You can,
of course, seek support from colleagues from other branches. You could
even obtain nominations from members of the Society who live overseas,
because there is no British residency requirement for nominators (other
than for the national constituencies). Canvassing
The previous restrictions on canvassing were designed to give candidates
an equal opportunity of presenting their views to the membership. However,
some believed that the restrictions gave an unfair advantage to existing
members of Council and other well-known candidates. Other bodies do
not commonly apply canvassing restrictions to their elections. Furthermore,
with the growth of internet use, restrictions on canvassing have become
increasingly hard to enforce. The Council believes that the electorate
is capable of assessing the merits of candidates and that excessive
or negative campaigning is unlikely to advance the cause of those who
indulge in it. As a result, the Council decided in December 2002 that
the then current restrictions on canvassing should not apply to candidates
for election to the reformed Council. Further guidance on publicity
is available in the guidance papers for candidates, which will be available
shortly on the Society’s website, or from Averil Ridgway (tel 020 7572 2204; e-mail averil.ridgway@rpsgb.org).
Having found your supporters, you should return your nomination form
to the Secretary and Registrar, signed also by yourself to confirm that
you accept nomination. Two other documents from the bundle you receive
with your nomination form will also need signing. One is a declaration
of adverse decisions, on which you should either state that you have
not been the subject of any adverse decisions that might be relevant
to membership of the Council, or provide details if you have. The other
is a statement of undertaking that, if elected, you will support and
seek to further the purpose, objects and responsibilities of the Society
and comply with the code of conduct for Council members.
The returned nomination form should also be accompanied by biographical
details, a declaration of positions or companies from which you benefit
financially and a good quality colour photograph, taken within the last
six months. The biographical details and the declaration of relevant
interests should be presented in the standard formats specified in the
Council election procedure. Election booklet
In addition, you should submit a statement of policy by 25 February
at the latest. If you do not meet this deadline it cannot be included
in the election booklet. The biographical details, the declaration
of relevant interests and the policy statement should together total
no more than 630 words, which is the maximum that can be accommodated
on a single page of the booklet. How you divide your words between
biography, declaration of interests and policy statement is entirely
up to you.
The names of the candidates are reported to the Council in confidence
at the beginning of March, and shortly afterwards members should receive
the voting papers and election booklet. The Journal of 12 March will
include the candidates’ biographical details, declarations of relevant
interests and photographs, but not their statements of policy, which
are sent only to members.
Once the list of candidates is public, be prepared for approaches from
editors of various publications, organisers of hustings events, etc.
But do not contribute to any publication or event unless you are sure
that the Council election procedure is being followed.
The closing date for voting this year is 11 April. A few days later candidates
should learn whether or not they have been elected. The rest of the world
will learn about it when they read The Journal of 16 April.
Although new members of Council would usually take office (and outgoing
members of Council would leave office) as from the date of publication
of the election results in The Journal, this will not be the
case in 2005, when the new Council will take office (and current Council
leave
office) at 00.01hrs on the day after the Society’s annual general
meeting. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal