A Non-Governmental Organization in Formal Consultative Relations with UNESCO
In accordance with ICTMD Statute 9:
- The Nomination Committee consists of three members, two of whom are appointed by the Assembly of National and Regional Representatives and one by the Executive Board.
- At least one of the members must be a current or former member of the Executive Board.
- The Nomination Committee appoints a Convener from its members. The Convener chairs the meetings and organizes the work of the Nomination Committee.
- The Nomination Committee elicits proposals for any vacancies on the Executive Board.
- These proposals may be made by the Executive Board, National or Regional Committees, or any two members residing in different countries.
- All such proposals must reach the Convener of the Committee in writing at least six months before a meeting of the General Assembly of Members.
- The Nomination Committee nominates at least two but not more than three candidates for each vacancy on the Executive Board.
- The nominations are included in a postal or electronic ballot, three months preceding each meeting of the General Assembly of Members.
- The results of the election are tallied and announced by the Convener at the General Assembly of Members.
- The workings of the Nomination Committee are provided in the relevant Memorandum.
In accordance with ICTMD Statute 7. Governance - 7.2 (b-d) Executive Board:
The Executive Board consists of a President and two Vice Presidents (Officers), and nine Ordinary Members, all of whom are elected by the membership of the Council by means of a postal or electronic ballot. In addition, the Executive Board may appoint other members as defined in clause (f). Nominations for the three Officers and the nine Ordinary Members to be elected are made by a Nomination Committee that conducts a postal or electronic ballot as discussed in Statute 9. Officers are elected for a term lasting until the second meeting of the General Assembly of Members after their term has begun (usually four years) and can serve a maximum of two terms (either two terms as President or Vice President, or one term each). Ordinary Members are elected for a term lasting until the second meeting of the General Assembly of Members after their term has begun (usually four years). In all cases, a Board Member may serve a maximum of two consecutive or non-consecutive terms as an Ordinary member and a maximum of two consecutive or non-consecutive terms as Officer.
And, in accordance with ICTMD Statute 8 (d) Assembly of National and Regional Representatives:
- The Assembly of National and Regional Representatives appoints two members of the Nomination Committee as prescribed in Statute 9(a).
This is the memorandum prescribed by the cited Statute 9 (j)
In consultation with the other members of the Committee, the Convener should prepare an announcement for the Bulletin of the ICTMD to inform the membership about the upcoming election, vacant positions, and how to propose candidates (Statute 9 b-g). Members cannot propose themselves as candidates.
In accordance with Statute 9, a number of timings are critical. These relate to the publication of the Bulletin and the meeting of the General Assembly of Members which generally takes place during a World Conference. These timings are:
timing | task |
---|---|
More than 6 months before General Assembly of Members | Announce the upcoming election and call for nominations (usually in the October Bulletin of the year preceding the General Assembly of Members) |
6 months before General Assembly of Members | Proposals are received by the Convener (usually by 31 December of the year preceding the General Assembly of Members) |
3 months before General Assembly of Members | Elections are announced, including candidates, voting procedure, etc., via the website and Bulletin (usually the April issue preceding the General Assembly of Members) |
2 ½ months before General Assembly of Members | Voting period begins, instructions on how to vote are circulated to eligible members via email (usually on 1 May preceding the General Assembly of Members) |
1 ½ months before General Assembly of Members | Voting period ends; Nomination Committee and Secretariat confirm the validity of the election and notify the candidates of the results of the election (usually on 31 May preceding the General Assembly of Members) |
At General Assembly of Members | Convener announces results to the General Assembly |
After the announced deadline for receiving proposals has passed, the Convener should compile a list of proposals received for each vacant position, together with the identities of the proposers. The Secretariat should be asked for a list of the proposals made by the Executive Board. Each candidate proposed should be asked whether they are willing to stand for the position.
The combined list should be sent to the Secretariat to check that:
If either of these criteria is not met the proposal is invalid and the proposers should be informed. A period of grace could be allowed to correct the problem.
The next task is to ensure that there are at least two but no more than three suitable candidates for each vacant position. For example, if there are three vacancies, the number of candidates listed on the ballot should be at least six but no more than nine. Where there are not enough candidates for any position the Convener, in consultation with the other members of the Nomination Committee, may try to persuade a person proposed for another position to accept nomination for the position with insufficient proposals. In cases where there are insufficient proposals overall, the Committee must seek suitable candidates for nomination. In rare cases where there are too many proposals for the number of positions vacant, the Committee must persuade one or more candidates to withdraw. Ultimately, it is the Nomination Committee’s responsibility to ensure that there is a correct number of candidates for each vacant position, and that the candidates are able to fulfill the duties of the positions for which they are nominated.
Each candidate should be asked to provide a Statement of Claims and Intentions to be included in the ballot. The Statement should include the reasons why the candidate believes that they are a suitable candidate for the position, and their plans if elected. The Statement should be no longer than 500 words. If the statement received from the candidate is longer than 500 words the Convener should edit it for conformity to the requirement.
The final list of candidates grouped under the vacant positions, along with the Statements of Claims and Intentions, should be sent to the Secretariat. The Convener, in consultation with the Bulletin's Editor, should also compose a general statement about the election process for publication in the Bulletin. It should be noted in the statement that Joint Members will each be allowed one vote and Institutional Members the number of votes corresponding to the number of members for which they are registered in the Membership Directory. Information about identities of the proposers and the process of preparing the slate should be forwarded to the Secretariat for archival purposes (not for publication).
In order to ensure maximum transparency, the voting process and the tallying of its results shall be outsourced to an entrusted and organization approved by the Executive Board.
The results of the election are announced by the Convener at the General Assembly of Members following the election. The Convener should also report the outcome in the Bulletin and prepare a written report for the Secretariat. The latter should contain the number of votes received by each candidate. Finally, the Convener should write to each of the candidates to inform them of the election results.
Established in July 2014 (Astana); revised in July 2018 (Bangkok), August 2023 (online), October 2023 (online).