CSA STUDENT TRUSTEE

2020

CANDIDATE’S PACK

Contents

Introduction 3

The role of the CSA 4

The role of the CSA Board of Trustees 4

The governance structure of the CSA 5

The Role of the Student Trustee 6

Important election information and advice 7Election timetable 7Standing for election 7Producing a Manifesto 8Candidates' Meeting 9Support for Candidates 9Campaigning 9Printed publicity 10Talking to students 10The voting process 11The count 12Complaints, grievances and breaches of good conduct 12

Application form 13

Expenses record form 15

Sections of CSA governance documents pertaining to elections 17

Constitution Clauses 42-45. Student Trustees

Bye-laws Section 6. Election of Officer Trustees, Executive Officers, Student Trustees, NUS Delegates and similar positions for which elections may be necessary

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Introduction

Thank you for showing an interest in the post of Student Trustee within the CSA. This pack should answer most of your questions about the role and how the election process works. Should you have any further questions, or are unsure about standing for these positions, then please contact one of the following people.

Sue Richardson CSA Election Manager csa@cranfield.ac.ukMartin Davey CSA General Manager m.davey@cranfield.ac.uk Lucy Lu CSA President csapresident@cranfield.ac.ukFederica Persico Vice-President (Shrivenham) csa.shrivenham@cranfield.ac.uk

The CSA staff will be able to advise you on the technical details of running for election and what is expected of the successful candidate, whilst the CSA President will be best placed to tell you what it is really like working as a CSA Trustee.

The Returning Officer, who is an independent person, will be in overall charge of elections and will adjudicate on any complaints or other issues. This will be a person appointed by the National Union of Students (NUS).

The most important documents concerning elections are the CSA Constitution and Bye-laws. Copies of the sections relevant to elections are included at the end of this pack, but you should be aware of the contents of both documents in full. These are available on the CSA website and University intranet Student Officers page.

http://www.mycsa.org.uk/

https://intranet.cranfield.ac.uk/csa/Pages/StudentOfficers.aspx

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The role of the CSA

The primary role of the CSA is to represent its student members to the University and to national bodies. To these ends, CSA Officers sit on various University committees, and also organise campaigns to bring issues of concern to the attention of the authorities.

Secondly, the CSA provides a range of non-commercial services for students. These include such things as academic and welfare advice and support, campaigns, sports clubs, societies, entertainment and media. These are funded through annual grants from the University.

Thirdly, the CSA runs a range of commercial services. At Cranfield campus these include a bar, cafe and shop, whilst at Shrivenham campus sales of merchandise and discount cards are made within the CSA Office. Whilst providing a service to students, these activities are expected to run at a small overall profit to help fund the non-commercial services.

The role of the CSA Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the CSA’s highest governing body. It consists of Officer Trustees (the President and two Vice-presidents), two Student Trustees and three External Trustees. The Officer Trustees are elected as Executive Officers, the Student Trustees are elected specifically to that role and the External Trustees invited to join the Board.

It is important that the Board consists of people with a wide range of skills and experiences so that it can anticipate and react to any scenario faced by CSA. Therefore, no-one should feel excluded from standing as a Trustee.

The Board is responsible for the CSA’s strategy and planning, financial monitoring, oversight of activities, legal duties and providing guidance to the Officers and staff of CSA. These are medium to long-term responsibilities, rather than operational matters, and apply over the whole University, both Cranfield and Shrivenham. The Board has to take a considered view of any issue, rather than dealing with short-term problems or initiatives.

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The governance structure of the CSA

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Board of Trustees

CSA AGM(EGM)

General Manager

Casual Staff

ShrivenhamStudent Council

CranfieldExecutive

Permanent Staff

CranfieldStudent Council

ShrivenhamExecutive

StudentReferendum

The Role of the Student Trustee

Essentially, the role of the Student Trustee on the Board is the same as that of the other types of trustee; overall legal responsibility for the CSA. The only differences are the manner of their appointment, and, unlike Officer Trustees, they have no role on the CSA Executive Committees.

Therefore, the Student Trustee role may be defined as representing the needs, wishes and opinions of students to the Board, whilst being able to take a wide and long-term view independent of immediate operations. In some ways they bridge the gap between Officer and External Trustees.

Trustees have, and must accept, ultimate responsibility for directing the affairs of the CSA, ensuring that it is solvent and well-run, and delivering the charitable outcomes for the benefit of the members. These are legal and financial responsibilities.

Theoretically, all charity trustees are financially liable for the decisions they make. However, if this was truly the case, there would be no-one willing to act as a charity trustee. The CSA insures its Trustees so that they are not personally liable provided decisions are made in good faith and they do not knowingly act illegally.

The nature of the role suggests that a Student Trustee would ideally be a student who prefers to take a long view of the CSA and is happiest working on developmental issues, rather than frontline campaigning or representation. However, no-one should feel excluded, unless they are disqualified by law from being a charity trustee (see below).

The Student Trustee positions are not sabbatical roles; that is, they continue to work full-time on their academic studies whilst contributing to the CSA in their spare time. Student Trustees are not paid, although reasonable and genuine expenses can be reimbursed or paid by the CSA.

The commitment required of a Student Trustee is less than that of an Officer Trustee or other Executive Officer. The CSA Board of Trustees meets four times a year, usually for about two hours at a time. These meetings take place in the evenings to allow External Trustees to attend. There are usually papers to be read before meetings, but this can be done as convenient. In addition, all Trustees are expected to attend the AGM.

Due to the long-term nature of the duties, and as long as they remain a registered student, a Student Trustee is elected for two years and can serve for up to two terms, that is, four years in total. However, there is nothing to stop a Student Trustee from serving for just one year if they so wish.

Further information on the boards and the duties of trustees is available from the Charity Commission website, and in particular the “Essential Trustee” booklet.

http://www.charitycommission.gov.uk/Charity_requirements_guidance/Charity_essentials/The_essential_trustee.aspx

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Important election information and advice

Election timetable

The election timetable is established in principle by the CSA governance documents.

The critical dates are as follow.

Formal notice of election Tuesday 6th October

Nominations open Tuesday 6th October 12:00

Nominations close Monday 26th October 12:00

Candidates’ meeting Monday 26th October 13:00

Meet the candidates TBA by zoom

Voting opens Tuesday 3rd November 09:00

Voting closes Thursday 5th November 17:00

Count commences Thursday 5th November 17:30

Result announced As soon as possible thereafter, estimated time Thursday 5th November 18:00

Standing for election

A candidate for Student Trustee must be a registered student of Cranfield University, of either campus or off-campus. They do not have to be nominated by fellow students, but instead simply put their names forward to the Election Manager for consideration on the attached application form.

The Appointments Committee will then ensure that the candidates are eligible to stand before allowing their names to go forward to the ballot.

A candidate for a Student Trustee position must be eligible under charity law to act as a Trustee of the CSA. The following are disqualified from acting as charity trustees, although they may run for positions as an Executive Officer, and make a contribution in other areas.

anyone who has been convicted of an offence involving deception or dishonesty, unless the conviction is spent;

anyone who is an undischarged bankrupt; anyone who has made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed

for, his or her creditors and has not been discharged in respect of it; anyone who has previously been removed from trusteeship of a charity by the Court

or the Charity Commissioners for misconduct or mismanagement; anyone who is under a disqualification order under the Company Directors

Disqualification Act 1986.

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The completed application form must be handed in to the CSA Office before the end of the close of applications. A hard copy of a candidate’s manifesto must accompany the application form. In addition, a soft copy of the manifesto must be sent to the Election Manager by the close of nominations (csa@cranfield.ac.uk ).

Late applications, including late manifestoes, are not acceptable.

Producing a Manifesto

A manifesto is a document that explains the candidates experience, ideas, proposals and why they should be elected.

It can be no more than one side of A4 and should be submitted in both electronic and paper format. All manifestoes will be put on display and included in the election booklet distributed to voters.

A manifesto must NOT

refer to present or former members of the CSA by name refer to present or former CSA staff talk about other candidates, especially in a negative fashion knowingly contain factual inaccuracies contain opinion expressed as fact advocate discrimination or breach CSA equal opportunity policies be prejudicial to the fair running of the elections use the University or CSA logos

Candidates are advised to

include a photograph so voters will be able to recognise them include their name and the position for which they are running be realistic and only make promises that they are likely to be able to keep try and use plain English and be clear and concise describe any involvement in the University and/or CSA describe their skills, knowledge and experience most importantly, state what they would like to do if elected

No person other than the Appointment Committee members, Returning Officers and Election Manager(s) are allowed to view the manifestos or know the names of candidates running for election until after the close of nominations.

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Candidates' Meeting

The Candidates Meeting(s) time(s) and location(s) will be determined on the basis of the location of candidates. All candidates will be informed of the arrangements as soon as possible.

The candidate (or a designated person) must attend this meeting. At the meeting you will have a chance to meet an election manager and they will inform you of the conditions under which the election will be run and you can ask any questions about the process. The candidates' meeting will also be an opportunity for candidates to receive initial approval of publicity materials prior to display or distribution.

Support for Candidates

Each candidate may spend a maximum of £50 of their own money on electioneering, this money is not refundable. This limit is to prevent candidates over-spending on elections; the result should be about candidates and their ideas, not about resources available to the candidates.

Receipts must be retained for all expenditure, and each item documented on the Record of Expenditure Form that is included in this pack. Failure to follow these rules may lead to the Returning Officer taking actions against a candidate, which may include disqualification.

In particular, please note that services in kind will be taken at their full value when calculating expenditure. For example, if a candidate has a friend or relative willing to produce campaign material for free, then the charge to their expenditure limit is the commercial cost of that work NOT zero.

The CSA will also provide free internal photocopying or printing for each candidate to a maximum of 20 one-sided A4 colour copies and 100 one-sided A4 black and white copies. This allocation may be used as the candidate wishes; for example, 20 A4 copies is equivalent to 10 A3 or 40 A5 copies.

Campaigning

To get elected you need to gain more votes than anyone else during the voting period, as determined by the Single Transferable Vote system (see below for an explanation of this process). This means that you will have to persuade students to vote for you. To do this, you will have to run an election campaign.

You can only begin your campaign after the candidates meeting. Early campaigning may result in the Returning Officer taking action, including disqualification of a candidate.

The nature of an election campaign is intensive, exhausting and very time-consuming. It is difficult for one person to do alone, and it is useful to put together a campaign team of friends and supporters to help. Alternatively, candidates may join together in teams (slates)

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and agree to support each others’ candidacy. However, the following points concerning such arrangements must be noted.

Candidates are responsible for the actions of their campaign teams It is useful if members of campaign teams are easily identified (T-shirts, badges, etc.)

to avoid misunderstandings Candidates running as slates may be held responsible for the actions of other

candidates on their slate and their campaign teams It is wise to inform the Election Manager of any slate arrangements, rather than just

relying on informal agreements, and equally important who is NOT on a slate

If you are unsure about whether any campaigning activity falls within the rules do not hesitate to ask either the Returning Officer or Election Manager.

Printed publicity

Almost every campaign in an election includes printed publicity, whether as posters or flyers.

The following points should be noted.

No candidates’ campaign publicity may appear prior to the end of the candidates’ meeting.

No form of CSA or University insignia, logo, or any other indication that the candidate is in any way “officially endorsed” may appear on any publicity material

Candidates should include their name, position and a photo in a prominent position Publicity should focus on 2-3 main reasons for a voter to support a candidate. Long

wordy documents are difficult to read and off-putting to voters. All publicity should be well laid out and easy to read. Avoid too many capitals,

changes of font or general messiness. Make publicity eye-catching and make a voter want to read it Make good and appropriate us of your colour and B&W allocations of printing Ensure that all publicity follows the rules of the election Ask before putting up posters in University buildings Take down your posters after the end of the election Tidy up dropped flyers, nobody likes litter (and they can be re-used!)

Talking to students

Whilst printed publicity impacts a lot of voters, nothing can beat actually talking to students and listening to their opinions.

Following are a few tips on talking to students.

No campaigning may take place before the end of the candidates’ meeting. However, this does not mean that you cannot tell people you are standing, especially friends and classmates, and talk to them about issues of concern

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Be friendly and smile Don’t hassle someone who is busy, distracted or grumpy; it is a waste of time Explain who you are and the position for which you are running Highlight the main issue(s) that you want to address Don’t talk for too long; be short and to the point Show some interest in them. Ask about their course and what they would like the

CSA and its Officers to do Listen to their opinions, but remember that you want to talk to as many people as

possible Explain how and where they can vote, including email voting if useful Ask them to vote for you, but if they already have a preferred candidate, ask them to

vote for you as their Number 2 as this can be vital in the voting system used Thank them for their time

The Voting Process

All votes must be cast online; there are no paper ballots. All voters will be informed of the voting process and given access to the online system via their Cranfield University email address.

Voting will be by the Single Transferable Vote system as defined by the Electoral Reform Society.

http://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems

This means that voters are asked to rank the candidates in order of preference. They may rank some or all candidates, or just indicate their first choice, it is up to them.

However, if a voter only indicates their first choice, then their vote is of no use once (if) their favoured candidate is eliminated. Candidates should encourage voters to vote for them, even if it is only as second or third choice, as these “transferred votes” may be critical in the later stages of the count.

All ballots include the option to re-open nominations (often referred to as RON). This means that the voter does not like any of the candidates and thinks that the CSA should start the whole process again to find some better candidates. RON is treated like any other candidate, both at the vote and at the count. It is rare for the RON votes to win, but it has happened in the CSA, and a RON vote is better than no vote at all.

Candidates will appear on the ballot in alphabetical order of family name (then given name if family names are the same). It is the responsibility of the candidates to ensure that the Election Manager is clear as to a candidates correct and preferred use of names, for example diminutives, order of multiple names, etc. RON is always last on the list, after all other candidates regardless of their position in the alphabet.

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The Count

The Returning Officer (or their nominee, and similarly hereafter) will inform the candidates of the time and venue of the count. The candidate, or their representative, may attend as observers.

The Returning Officer will decide on the exact process of the count to ensure fair and effective counting.

In the first round of counting, the first choice votes for each candidate are counted. If a candidate has more than 50% of the total vote (not counting blank or destroyed ballot papers), then they are elected.

If no candidate reaches the 50% threshold, then the candidate with the lowest number of votes is eliminated and their votes transferred to the second choice candidates on those papers. Those ballots with no second choice are removed from the process. This is why it is vital that candidates encourage voters to insert their second, third, etc. selections.

The process is continued until a candidate reaches the 50% threshold of votes and is declared the winner.

Election results will be announced as soon as possible after the results have been determined. They will then be posted on the CSA website.

Complaints, grievances and breaches of good conduct

All complaints concerning any part of the election, be it campaigning, voting, counting or process, must be submitted in line with the CSA Constitution and Bye-laws.

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CSA STUDENT TRUSTEE ELECTIONS 2020

APPLICATION FORM

This form must be completed and handed in to the CSA prior to the close of nominations on Monday 26th October at 12:00, along with a hard copy of your manifesto (if possible). A soft copy of your manifesto must also be sent to csa@cranfield.ac.uk before the close of applications. Late applications will not be accepted.

There may be a candidates meeting at a time and place to be arranged which you (or a designated representative) must attend.

Please complete in BLOCK CAPITALS

NAME

ADDRESS

CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER

EMAIL ADDRESS

SCHOOL and COURSE

CRANFIELD ID CARD NO.

SIGNATURE

DECLARATION

I wish to stand as a CSA Student Trustee, confirm that the information stated on this form is correct and that I am a registered student of Cranfield University. I confirm that I am NOT disqualified from standing as Charity Trustee for any of the following reasons.

conviction of an offence involving deception or dishonesty, unless the conviction is spent; being an undischarged bankrupt; having made a composition or arrangement with, or granted a trust deed for, his or her

creditors and having not been discharged in respect of it; having previously been removed from trusteeship of a charity by the Court or the Charity

Commissioners for misconduct or mismanagement; being under a disqualification order under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.

I agree to abide by the regulations in the CSA Constitution and Bye-laws as interpreted by the Returning Officer.

Signature............................................ Date...........................

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CSA STUDENT TRUSTEE ELECTIONS 2020

EXPENSES RECORD FORM

Complete this form EVERY time you purchase materials for use in your campaign, and attach ALL of your receipts. Signing this form confirms that you incurred no other expenses during the election.

Date Item Amount

Total

Signature: Date:

Name: Position: Student Trustee

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Sections of CSA governance documents pertaining to elections

The following sections of the CSA Constitution and Bye-laws are those that most directly deal with elections. Other sections may also be relevant. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that they are familiar with, and act in lie with, all sections of the documents.

Constitution Clauses 42-45. Student Trustees

42. Subject to Clause 43 below, up to two Student Trustees shall be elected by secret ballot by the Members, from such persons as have been nominated by the Appointments Committee, at an election to be held in accordance with the Bye-laws.

43. Each Student Trustee must be a Registered Student at the time of his or her election (and must continue to be a Registered Student for the duration of their term as a Student Trustee).

44. Subject to Clauses 49 and 50, Student Trustees shall remain in office for a term of up to two years commencing in accordance with the Bye-laws. The term of office may be shorter or longer on a transitional basis to coincide with the alteration of the year start or end.

45. A Student Trustee may serve a maximum of two consecutive or non-consecutive terms

Bye-laws Section 6. Election of Officer Trustees, Executive Officers, Student Trustees, NUS Delegates and similar positions for which elections may be necessary

1. An independent person, agreed between the Board of Trustees and Cranfield University, will be the Returning Officer for elections. They will be responsible for the interpretation and implementation of election rules and regulations.

2. A member of CSA permanent staff will be the Election Manager. The Election Manager is solely responsible for administrative matters. They will forward any question on interpretation or implementation of non-administrative aspects of the regulations to the Returning Officer. There may be Election Assistants appointed to help with the administration of the elections. These may be members of either CSA or Cranfield University staff as practical for effective running of the election.

3. The role of Officers, who are not themselves running for office, during the election period is to highlight the importance of the elections to students. Their aim should be to maximise the numbers of both candidates and voters.

4. Officers and staff of CSA are not to be seen to support any candidate in an election in any preferential way unless they themselves are running for office. In the latter case, they shall take the period of the elections from close of nominations to close of

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voting as leave of absence and not make any use of any CSA facilities during that period that are not equally available to all candidates.

5. Any Officer who is found to be interfering in the elections in a way which is not deemed appropriate by the Returning Officer will be referred to the disciplinary procedures in Section 11 or 12 as appropriate.

6. Any member of staff who is found to be interfering in the elections in a way which is not deemed appropriate by the Returning Officer will be referred to the staff disciplinary procedure.

7. Presidential elections will normally take place during April; other elections will normally take place in either April or October. However, these dates may be changed at the discretion of the Returning Officer to promote successful elections. Those persons elected will remain in post until either the next scheduled election for their position, they resign or are otherwise removed from office.

8. Notice will be given at least 21 days before the date of an election. Nominations will close at least seven days before the date of the election.

9. The Election Manager will produce a candidate’s handbook prior to elections. Anything written in this handbook must be followed and non-compliance could result in the Returning Officer ruling against a candidate.

10. All candidates for election must be Full Members of CSA and not be banned from any part of the CSA services or premises.

11. Candidates may only run for one position at any single election and no position can be split to become a shared position. A candidate may run for both an officer/trustee position and NUS Delegate position at the same election.

12. Each candidate must be proposed and seconded by full members of the CSA, except in the case of Student Trustees who must put themselves forward to the Appointments Committee in lieu of nomination in accordance with Section 4.

13. The candidate must supply the nomination form and a manifesto of up to one page of A4 including a photograph to the Election Manager before the close of nominations. These must be in both hardcopy and electronic versions.

14. Upon signing the nomination form the candidates are bound by the terms and conditions of the election rules and regulations as noted in the elections handbook and the CSA Constitution and Bye-laws.

15. Candidates may run as teams or slates.

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16. Any candidate wishing to withdraw their nomination must do so in writing to the Returning Officer and the Election Manager.

17. The Returning Officer and Election Manager must not reveal details of any nominations prior to the close of nominations.

18. The Election Manager will display the candidates’ manifestos in the CSA premises within two working days of the close of nominations and produce a candidate manifesto handbook.

19. The Election Manager will publicise the times and locations of question time or similar at least 14 days prior to voting opening. The Returning Officer and Election Manager may agree to cancel question time for all or some positions if there are insufficient candidates to contest an election.

20. Any candidate absent from question time or similar without written apologies in advance to the Returning Officer and Election Manager may be disqualified at the Returning Officer’s discretion.

21. If question time is held, it will be chaired by the Election Manager. The length of speeches will be up to 2 minutes per uncontested candidate and up to 5 minutes per contested candidate. Questions will be taken from students and the Elections Manager will regulate the number and length of time taken over questions.

22. All campaign material must be approved by the Election Manager or by the Returning Officer. Campaign material must not contradict CSA’s Equal Opportunity or other policies or have any CSA, Cranfield University or NUS produced logo attached. No campaign material or other act of canvassing may denigrate any other candidate, present of former CSA Officer or present or former member of CSA Staff.

23. The CSA will refund expenses, on production of receipts, to a maximum of £25 for each candidate standing in the Presidential elections. In addition, each candidate for any election may spend a maximum of £50 of their own money, this money is not refundable. The CSA will also provide free internal photocopying or printing for each candidate in any election to a maximum agreed between the Returning Officer and Election Manager prior to the start of the election and stated in the candidate’s handbook.

24. Candidates who do not keep to the allotted deadlines for handing in forms or attending pre and post election candidate meetings as stipulated by the Elections Manager in the candidate’s handbook may be disciplined at the Returning Officer’s discretion.

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25. Candidates must always ask for permission to place posters on notice boards/walls/venues. Candidates must remove their posters and publicity after the close of elections.

26. The use of “social networking” (e.g. Facebook, Bebo, etc.) sites will be allowed as soon as the official campaign time starts. Campaign pages must focus solely on the candidate(s) for which that site has been made; any negative campaigning will be dealt with by the Returning Officer. These must be independent sites; no campaigning may take place on any CSA or CSA affiliate website or online messageboard.

27. The Election Manager will arrange regular elections meetings with the Returning Officer to discuss any complaints or other issues. These meetings may be in the form of telephone or electronic conversations.

28. The role(s) of ballot clerk will be carried out by the Returning Officer, Election Manager and their Assistants.

29. The Returning Officer and the Election Manager must endeavour that all Members of CSA have the opportunity to vote. Voting times and locations must be established accordingly.

30. Only Full Members of CSA may vote in elections. A valid Cranfield University student card must be produced as proof of eligibility. The Returning Officer and the Election Manager must ensure that measures are in place to prevent repeat voting.

31. All Full Members may vote for President, Student Trustee and NUS Delegate positions but may only vote for the other Officer Trustee and Executive Officer positions pertaining to the campus at which they cast their vote.

32. Votes will be cast on ballot slips bearing the CSA logo and placed in sealed ballot boxes. Ballot slips will carry the positions of office and the names of candidates for each office will be in an alphabetical order of surname. There will be the option to re-open nominations (RON) for each position. Alternatively or additionally, electronic voting systems may be introduced at the discretion of the Returning Officer and Election Manager, provided such a system is ratified by the Board of Trustees.

33. Voting will be by the Single Transferable Vote system as defined by the Electoral Reform Society. The Returning Officer and the Election Manager will endeavour to explain the system to all candidates and voters.

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34. No candidate or member of their campaign team, or any other person attempting to influence a voter may approach within three metres of the polling station except when they themselves are voting. This distance may be varied on the discretion of the Election Manager or the Returning Officer depending upon the architecture of the polling station, but must be made clear to all candidates.

35. Candidates need to be aware that they are responsible for the actions of anyone on their campaign team and any complaints will be dealt with by the Returning Officer.

36. The Returning Officer and the Election Manager will determine the time and location of the count. The candidates will be informed of this and may attend, or send a representative, to observe the count. Any such observers will remain part of the count team until the results are announced and will not make any effort to either physically interfere with the count or communicate the results in advance to any person; any such action being liable to result in disqualification of their candidate. No mobile telephones may be used by anyone involved in or observing the count until announcement of the results.

37. The Returning Officer may be assisted in the count as they see fit by CSA or University staff.

38. Results of the elections will be announced as soon as possible once the count is complete and any complaint relating to the post has been dealt with to the satisfaction of the Returning Officer. The announced result is final.

39. A list of successful candidates will be notified to all sites following the declaration of results. Publication on the CSA website(s) will be sufficient notification.

40. Any complaint about the election process, organisation or another candidate or team must be submitted in writing to the Election Manager or their Assistant to be forwarded to the Returning Officer.

41. All complaints relating to the conduct of the elections, campaigns or polling must be submitted, in writing, prior to the end of polling.

42. The count will only begin for all or individual positions once the Returning Officer has dealt with all complaints regarding the conduct of the elections, campaigning or polling pertinent to those positions.

43. All complaints relating to the conduct of the count must be submitted, in writing to the Returning Officer prior to the declaration of results.

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44. The Returning Officer will hear all appropriate evidence relating to a complaint and may seek out additional evidence or witnesses as they deem necessary.

45. The Returning Officer makes judicial decisions regarding elections rules and regulations. They have the power to issue warnings, disqualify candidates, reduce budget and halt all or part of the election. The Returning Officer’s decision is final.

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