CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF MARKETING, GHANA
INTRODUCTION
The following serves as guidelines for the Elections Committee and members of the Institute for the conduct of election of members to the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG), pursuant to paragraph 2 of the First Schedule of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana Act, 2020 (Act 1021). The guidelines basically provide the eligibility criteria to contest the election, appointment of electoral officers, vetting of applications, voting by members and the declaration of results of the elections.
GUIDELINE 1: ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
1.1 For purposes of the conduct of election for members of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana, Council shall appoint an Elections Committee comprising three members.
1.2 The members of the Elections Committee shall be appointed at least one month before the date of the elections.
1.3 The tenure of the Elections Committee ends after the declaration of the results of the elections.
GUIDELINE 2: FUNCTIONS OF ELECTIONS COMMITTEE
2.1 The Elections Committee shall;
(a) write to all members in good standing (as at 2020) for nominations;
(b) vet all nominations;
(c) submit the list of all approved candidates to members before the Annual General Meeting to enable members form their opinions;
(d) ensure that the appropriate electronic voting system is built and tested for robustness and all security measures assured;
(e) arrange for the participation of a representative of the Electoral Commission of Ghana, who will serve as the Presiding Officer;
(f) open a campaign window and inform each candidate of the available opportunity to advertise their nominations to members via electronic means; WhatsApp, SMS and email (Secretariat to facilitate this) or via their private social media handles;
(g) ensure a pre and post elections systems audit (by a qualified IT Auditor to be appointed for this purpose) before the Presiding Officer generates the results of the polls;
(h) present the winner for each position contested to members at the Annual General Meeting; and
(i) be responsible for any other issue necessary for the conduct of free and fair elections.
GUIDELINE 3: NOMINATION FOR NATIONAL PRESIDENT
3.1 A person is qualified to be elected as National President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana if that person is;
(a) a full member of the Institute for not less than Ten (10) years on the day of elections; and
(b) a fully qualified Professional Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (ProM), or any analogous professional marketing qualification such as DipM.
GUIDELINE 4: NOMINATION FOR NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT
4.1 A person is qualified to be elected as the National Vice President of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana if that person is;
(a) a full member of the Institute for not less than Ten (10) years on the day of elections; and
(b) a fully qualified Professional Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (ProM), or any analogous professional marketing qualification such as DipM.
GUIDELINE 5: NOMINATION FOR NATIONAL SECRETARY
5.1 A person is qualified to be elected as National Secretary of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana if that person is;
(a) a full member of the Institute for not less than eight (8) years on the day of elections; and
(b) a fully qualified Professional Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (ProM), or any analogous professional marketing qualification such as DipM.
GUIDELINE 6: NOMINATION FOR NATIONAL TREASURER
6.1. A person is qualified to be elected as National Treasurer of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana if that person is;
(a) a full member of the Institute for not less than eight (8) years on the day of elections; and
(b) a fully qualified Professional Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (ProM), or any analogous professional marketing qualification such as DipM.
GUIDELINE 7: NOMINATION FOR MEMBER(S) OF THE GOVERNING COUNCIL
7.1 A person is qualified to be elected as a member of the Governing Council of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana if that person is;
(a) a full member of the Institute for not less than five (5) years on the day of elections; and
(b) a fully qualified Professional Marketer with the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (ProM), or any analogous professional marketing qualification such as DipM.
GUIDELINE 8: NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES
8.1 A person who seeks to contest elections as a member of the Governing Council shall
(a) Be a fully paid-up member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana
(b) Complete an electronic nomination form at the designated website of the Institute (www.cimghana.org).
(c) Have his/her nomination seconded by Three (3) other fully paid-up members of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana.
(d) Send an electronic mail to all three (3) Seconders, copied to [email protected], requesting each Seconder to consent by replying to the mail also coping [email protected] – please use the standard candidates’ email notification message provided under guideline 17 of this documents.
8.2 The Secretariat, on receipt of the confirmation mails, shall forward same to the Elections Committee.
8.3 A candidate in completing the electronic nomination form shall provide evidence of all relevant qualifications.
GUIDELINE 9: VETTING OF CANDIDATES BY ELECTION COMMITTEE
9.1 The Elections Committee shall vet applications/nominations for each position and inform the candidates of the decision of the Elections Committee.
GUIDELINE 10: WITHDRAWAL OF CANDIDATURE
10.1 A candidate
(a) may withdraw at any time before elections; and
(b) inform the Elections Committee of the decision to withdraw.
GUIDELINE 11: CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS
11.1 The Elections Committee shall facilitate the conduct of the elections by;
a) Writing to the Electoral Commission of Ghana to appoint a Presiding Officer who shall preside over the elections for the purpose of declaring the results of the electronic polls.
b) Each qualified voter/member will be assigned a unique token (special login password) to the microsite created for the purpose of the elections.
c) The system must have a means to track who has cast a vote and not permit any member to cast more than one vote.
d) The System must ensure that each vote is kept secret.
e) Voters are allowed to vote for one candidate only for each of the positions or offices being contested.
f) The system must allow voting to start and end at specific times (6:00 am to 6:00 pm on the voting day only).
g) The presiding officer shall be the only official with login credentials to click and generate a report of the polls for the purpose of declaration.
GUIDELINE 12: TIME FOR VOTING
12.1 Voting shall take place between the hours of 6:00am to 6:00pm.
GUIDELINE 13: VOTING
13.1 A member in good standing shall have one vote, which shall be cast electronically.
13.2 Results of the polls shall be declared at the AGM by the Presiding Officer.
13.3 The candidate for each position who receives the highest valid votes cast shall be declared elected for that position.
GUIDELINE 14: EQUAL NUMBER OF VOTES
14.1 In the event of a tie between two (2) candidates for any position, the Elections Committee shall, on the same day, open the system for a second round of elections (run-off) to be conducted to determine an eventual winner.
14.2 The candidates for election under paragraph 14.1 shall be the candidates who obtained equal votes at the previous election and the candidate who obtains the highest number of valid votes at the run-off shall be declared elected.
GUIDELINE 15: DECLARATION OF ELECTION RESULTS
15.1 Immediately after generating the results of the polls, the Presiding Officer shall publicly declare the outcome of the results for each position and forward a copy of the declaration to the Elections Committee.
GUIDELINE 16: PRESENTATION OF WINNERS
16.1 The chairperson of the Elections Committee shall, on receipt of the declaration, present the winner for each position contested at the Annual General Meeting.
GUIDELINE 17: CANDIDATES’ EMAIL NOTIFICATION MESSAGE
Each Candidate/ Nominee must fill in the blanks in the below message, copy same and paste as an email, addressed to [email protected] and copied to the three Seconders to his/her nomination.
Dear Sir,
I refer to the call for nominations for various positions in the forthcoming CIMG Governing Council Elections. This is to notify you that I have filed my nomination electronically for the position of …………………………………….., by following the instructions and guidelines on the Institute’s website.
I am, by this mail, requesting the three (3) Seconders to my nomination (all of whom are in copy) to respond to this mail confirming their consent as Seconders. Counting very much on your cooperation
Thank you
[Name of Candidate here]
