Council election candidates sought
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society is calling
for nominations to fill seven unreserved places on the Council for the next three years (p115). Six are unreserved places for elected pharmacists and one is a place for an elected pharmacy technician.
The closing date for the receipt of nominations is 2 March. Voting papers
will be sent out early in April and must be returned by 11 May. The election
result will be published in The Journal of 19 May and the new Council
members will take office on that date (three days after the Society’s
annual general meeting).
The vacancies for pharmacists this year arise from the retirement of
the six pharmacists who were elected with the fourth to ninth highest
numbers of votes in 2005, when all 14 unreserved places for pharmacists
on the new Council were filled. They are Gerald Alexander, Sid Dajani,
Davan Eustace, John Gentle, John Jolley and Stephen Wells.
All are eligible for re-election apart from Mr Dajani, who will have
completed nine years of continuous service on the Council.
The five pharmacists elected in 2005 with the lowest number of votes
served only until last year (when two were re-elected). The three elected
with the most votes — Martin Astbury, Hemant Patel and Graham Phillips — serve
until 2008, as do the pharmacists elected to the three national seats — Jonathan
Buisson (England, Isle of Man and Channel Islands), David Thomson (Scotland)
and Colin Ranshaw (Wales). Also serving until 2008 is Stephen Denyer,
the pharmacist elected by the schools of pharmacy to represent academic
pharmacy.
The vacancy for a pharmacy technician this year arises from the retirement
of Corinne Hunt, who is eligible for re-election. Lesley Morgan, who
was elected with more votes, continues for another year.
The attendance
records at Council meetings are published this week for
the six retiring members who are eligible for re-election (p115).
This week we also reproduce the Council’s policy on Council elections (p115). As a general principle, the Council considers that the election
should be conducted so as to give all candidates an equal opportunity
of presenting their views. The Council has set out criteria that it believes
will prevent any candidate having an advantage over his or her colleagues
by virtue of his or her financial resources or other special influence.
The Council no longer places restrictions on candidates seeking votes
through canvassing or letters to pharmacy journals but,
to avoid The Journal being swamped with contributions, it sets out a
scheme that should allow equal coverage for those candidates who wish
to avail themselves of it.
Three appointed Council members also complete their terms of office this
year. They are Lorna Jacobs, Alan Kershaw and Michael Schofield. Professor
Schofield is not eligible to serve a further term of office, having been
a member of Council since 1999.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal