All elections of full-time staff members to the Senate and College Boards as specified in the respective constitutions under the University Statutes shall be governed by these Rules made by the Senate.
Except as provided for in Rule 12, any reference in these Rules to the Senate shall also be interpreted as a reference to the College Boards and other equivalent bodies as determined by the Senate.
The following terms used in these Rules shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the City University of Hong Kong Ordinance: "University", "Council" and "Senate".
"Candidate" shall mean a member of full-time staff who, having been properly nominated for membership of the Senate, has signified his/her willingness to stand.
"Elector" shall mean a member of full-time staff who has the right to vote in accordance with the provisions of these Rules.
"Ballot" shall mean the casting of votes in secret.
"Vote" shall mean the formal expression of choice for a candidate or candidates, made in accordance with the provisions of these Rules.
2.6."Working Day" shall mean Mondays to Fridays, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
The Secretary to the Senate shall be the Election Officer for elections to the Senate, and unless otherwise stated, shall be responsible for the implementation and interpretation of these Rules and for the proper conduct of the elections.
The College Secretary, as Secretary to the College Board, shall be the Election Officer for elections to the College Board.
Elections shall be held in accordance with the following timetable.
Preparation of Electoral Rolls: At least one month prior to the date on which a normal vacancy is expected to occur.
Nomination Period: 10 working days following the announcement of an election.
Second Nomination Period: Five working days, commencing not earlier than five working days, and not later than eight working days, after the conclusion of the Nomination Period.
4.1.4.Period for Withdrawal: Two working days, commencing from the conclusion of the Nomination Period or the Second Nomination Period.
Publication of Nominations and Announcement of Poll (if applicable): Not later than two working days after the conclusion of the Period for Withdrawal.
Polling Period: Two working days, commencing not earlier than three working days after the Announcement of Poll.
Publication of Polling Results: Not later than two working days after the conclusion of the Polling Period.
By-elections shall follow a similar sequence of events.
There shall be one electoral roll for each academic unit/category of staff members where appropriate, comprising all eligible staff members of the respective academic unit/category who are in post on the date when the roll is prepared.
The Senate Secretary shall be responsible for ensuring that the electoral rolls are prepared at the appointed time. The Senate Secretary’s decision on eligibility for inclusion in the rolls shall be final.
Members of the electoral roll(s) shall elect the number of members determined by the Senate from among such members of the electoral roll(s) as are not eligible for ex officio membership of the Senate.
Unless otherwise determined by the Senate, the period of office for elected members of the Senate shall be two years and shall run from 1 September.
A member elected as a result of a by-election shall serve for the unexpired period of the term of office of the previous member, unless otherwise determined by the Senate Secretary.
Notwithstanding Rules 6.1 to 6.3 above, a member’s period of office shall terminate immediately if he/she ceases to be a member of full-time staff of the City University of Hong Kong.
A member elected to the Senate under these Rules may resign by notice in writing to the Senate Secretary.
Only electors may put forward nominations, and each elector may participate, as proposer or seconder, in no more nominations than the number of vacancies to be filled. The nominee cannot be the proposer or seconder for his/her own nomination. Nominations will be accepted only on Nomination Forms available from departmental offices or the Senate Secretary, and shall be signed by the proposer and by two seconders, and by the nominee who shall confirm his/her willingness to stand.
If the nominee is not in Hong Kong during the nomination period, the proposer shall provide evidence of the nominee’s consent, the validity of which shall be decided by the Senate Secretary.
Nominations shall be submitted in a sealed envelope, to reach the Senate Secretary by 5:00pm on the appointed day. Late nominations will be declared invalid.
Any nominee may withdraw his/her consent to stand for the election by submission of a written notice to the Senate Secretary within the stipulated Period for Withdrawal.
8.5.If no nominations, or fewer nominations than the number of vacancies, are received, a Second Nomination Period shall be declared. In the event of a further failure to receive the necessary number of nominations, the nomination process to fill such vacancies as remain shall be repeated after not less than six months have elapsed with a new electoral roll.
If the number of nominations is less than or equal to the number of vacancies, the candidates nominated shall be deemed to have been elected and their names shall be published in accordance with the timetable set out in Rule 4 above.
In all other cases the Senate Secretary shall publish an Announcement of Poll which shall include the names of candidates nominated, together with the names of proposers and seconders, and details of voting procedures. Where more than one nomination form is received for the same candidate, the Announcement of Poll shall include only the names of the proposer and two seconders stated on the first nomination form that reached the Senate Secretary.
Candidates or their proposers may submit for publication by the Senate Secretary such biographical data as they deem appropriate in a form to be specified by the Senate Secretary.
Each elector (including those holding more than one position) is entitled to only one vote for each vacancy to be filled, and may vote for one candidate only for each vacancy. Elections shall be by secret ballot at one or more Polling Stations designated for the purpose by the Senate Secretary.
The ballot shall be conducted according to the First Past the Post System, whereby the candidate with the most votes shall be declared elected, irrespective of whether or not he/she has obtained a majority of the valid votes cast.
In the event of an equality of votes between two or more candidates, the Senate Secretary shall draw lots to determine the successful candidate(s).
The preferences expressed by each elector shall be secret, and no attempt shall be made to identify the preference of individual electors.
For electors who will be on a leave of absence during the Polling Period, arrangements stated in Rules 9.5.1 and 9.5.2 below can be made.
An elector may, with the submission of evidence regarding their absence during the Polling Period, request the Senate Secretary to make special arrangements to enable him/her to cast a vote in advance between the period from the Announcement of Poll to the day before the start of the Polling Period. The completed and sealed ballot form from the elector will be kept in a ballot box until the appointed day for the counting of votes.
If an elector has a formal acting delegate appointed by the University (e.g., Acting Head of Department) during his/her period of absence, the acting delegate may cast a vote in his/her ex officio capacity during the Polling Period. However, if the elector has already cast a vote according to the provision under Rule 9.5.1, the acting delegate is not entitled to cast a vote under this circumstance.
Each elector shall cast his/her vote in person except for the circumstances stated in Rules 9.5.1 and 9.5.2 above, and no proxy vote will be accepted.
When an election is held, the Senate Secretary shall designate two employees of the University, who shall not be members on the electoral roll, to act as independent Scrutineers for that election. The names of the Scrutineers shall not be published.
All candidates shall be notified of the date and time fixed for counting the votes and shall have the right to be present at the count or to nominate one of their proposers or seconders to attend in their place.
On the appointed day the Senate Secretary, with the assistance of the Scrutineers, shall proceed to count the votes.
Decisions on the validity of a vote, or the intention of a vote where this is not clear, shall rest with the Senate Secretary.
At the conclusion of the count, the Senate Secretary shall confirm the number of votes cast and the number of invalid votes, and sign a statement to this effect.
The Senate Secretary shall publish the polling results giving the names of the successful candidates, the number of votes cast for each candidate and the number of votes declared valid and invalid. A copy of the announcement shall also be sent to each candidate.
Any complaint concerning the conduct of an election shall be lodged with the Senate Secretary within two working days after the publication of nominations or polling results, as appropriate. If a complaint is so lodged, the Senate Secretary shall investigate it and, if he/she finds the complaint substantiated, shall so inform the candidates and report the same to the Senate Chairman who may appoint two persons to further investigate the complaint if considered appropriate.
If no complaint is received by the appointed day, the Senate Secretary shall so inform the candidates and report the outcome of the election to the next meeting of the Senate.
The polling records shall be destroyed by the Senate Secretary one month after the publication of the polling results unless any complaint is substantiated, when they shall be retained for one month after the completion of any investigation into the complaint.
Last modified date: 5 November 2013
