Re: [Fsfe-uk] AFFS conference, AGM, reform

[MJ Ray]

Alex Hudson wrote:
> You can't hold an election outside of an AGM. The postal system provided
> is a postponed AGM election. There are no rules allowing election
> outside of an AGM.  6b. doesn't just say AGMs will hold elections, it
> says "members of the Committee shall be elected at AGM". The
> constitution is built around this: if you say that we can hold elections
> outside of AGM, you also blow out of the water the sections on due
> notice of nomination, quoracy of election, etc., because they rely on
> the election occuring at AGM: this is not an interpretation I could
> agree to.

6b does not say "all members of the Committee shall be elected at AGM."
If it did, all the stuff about casual vacancies and co-option in clause
6 vanishes. I think your interpretation above is absurd. I'm aware that
the NCVO model wasn't perfect, but I don't believe it contradicts itself
so obviously. Surely enough people reviewed it? I'm sure I didn't make
huge changes to clause 6.

At the moment, there are no rules allowing election outside of a meeting,
mainly because there only rules we have are:
 * clause 10 in the constitution
 * SO "Guidance for the Conduct of Meetings"
 * SO "Guidance for Email Resolutions" (needs re-approval, IMO, ideally)

Nothing about elections yet.

A notice of nomination given now would be more than 10 days before
the AGM.  Where is the section on quoracy of election?  I believe it's
the combination of meeting quoracy and currently having no non-ballot
election arrangements which has hindered us.  So, I really think ctte
should approve election rules as soon as possible, to answer the "How?"
questions and avoid past problems recurring.

> [...] If we were
> left with a lame-duck committee (say, four people) they wouldn't be able
> to take valid decisions (IMO) and we'd have to wait a year for another
> AGM - where again it wouldn't be certain we could elect people. I can't
> see how we could sensibly continue in that situation.

It's not "a lame-duck committee". It's just not complete. They could
still take valid decisions because 6g clearly says failure to elect
shan't invalidate the proceedings.

-- 
MJR/slef