GUIDELINES FOR DISTRICT ELECTORAL TEAMS ON FULL DAY ELECTIONS 2012 SGB ELECTIONS FEBRUARY 2012 Page 1
SECTION 9 FULL DAY ELECTIONS Learning Outcomes: At the end of this session electoral officers should know and/or understand the steps for applying to host a full day elections the role of the district electoral officer in managing a full day elections the requirements that a school must meet to host a full day elections the nomination process the elections the steps for announcing and recording the results. Frequently asked questions 9.1 INTRODUCTION Some schools fail to conduct their elections during their first meetings due to poor attendance by parents. As an alternative approach, schools may choose between conducting elections in a meeting or holding them over a longer period during a chosen day or even a full day (hereinafter referred to as full day elections ). The latter option may be of assistance to schools that have boarding facilities or where is dependent on learner transport schemes. In order to promote uniform, effective, free and fair elections, the nomination and election process during a full day elections must be based on good practice. Electoral officers must ensure that procedures are in place to ensure optimal parental participation, with the least possible cost and travel required of parents. 9.2 APPLYING FOR A FULL DAY ELECTIONS 9.2.1 Procedures for schools A school that opts for a full day election must apply to the district electoral officer (via their IMG Manager) to be granted permission to do so. The following must be borne in mind BEFORE a school select this option: The availability of parents to attend both a nomination meeting and the elections The availability of the entire electoral team over the duration of the full day elections; The times of the nomination is accessible to ALL parents The times of the elections is accessible to ALL parents Page 2
All parents are informed of the procedures for the full day elections The elections do not interfere with teaching and learning at the school Enough time is made available for the administration processes e.g. submission of profiles of nominees AND making the profiles available to all voters in order for them to make an informed decision when voting Monitoring of the entire election; and Adherence to the 15% poll. A programme is in place for the full duration of the election; The closing time will allow the electoral team to travel back safely home; At closing time the school has processes in place for the safe keeping of all documents used for the elections. 9.2.2 Procedures for districts When schools apply for a full day elections it is important to evaluate their application as speedily as possible. The checklist below serves as a guide when evaluating applications. A. Readiness of school to host a full day election Activity Yes No Comments 1 The context of the school is such that a full day elections is a more viable option than a single nomination and election meeting 2 The electoral officer and electoral team have agreed to be available for the full duration of the nomination and election process 3 Plans are in place that will enable parents to access the voting hall/station for the full duration of the elections 4 The voting station has been set up to ensure secrecy of the vote and an efficient flow of voters through the station 5 Plans are in place for the safe-guarding of documents after the elections B. Nomination and election procedures Activity Yes No Comments 1 Dates for the nomination (and election day) is set and all parents are informed at least 14 days (by hand) before the meeting 2 The school has a draft election programme in place 3 The school has notified parents that the elections will be conducted over a full day 4 The notices indicate the venue, opening and closing time for the nominations 5 A separate notice indicates the venue, opening and closing time of elections and the procedure for the counting of votes 6 Plans are in place to inform parents of the credentials of the nominees Page 3
9.3 THE NOMINATION OF PARENTS DURING A FULL DAY ELECTIONS 9.3.1 The nomination procedure The nomination procedure during a full day elections remains the same as during a nomination and election meeting. 9.2.2 The nomination meeting No quorum is required at the nomination meeting if the school is intending to have a full day elections If the total number of candidates whose nominations have been accepted - is less than the required number of members a new meeting at which new candidates must be nominated shall be convened; If the total number of candidates is equal to the required number of members, the electoral officer must declare every accepted candidate to be an elected member of the governing body; or If the total number of the candidates is more than the required number of members, a full day elections must be held. 9.2.3 The procedures to follow after the nomination meeting It is important that the school inform parents of details of the nominated candidates. Immediately after the nomination meeting the electoral officer must ensure that a profile is provided by each nominee. The profile must at least contain the following information. The name and surname of the nominee; The names and grades of his or her children in the school; Occupation and experience or skills; A short statement indicating that he or she is legible to be an SGB member; and Vision for the school (this should be brief and not include promises). An example of a profile is given below The following parents were nominated to serve on our SGB Name and surname and name of children at Occupation, experience and Statement and vision Photo of nominee (optional) school skills Example: Mr the parent/guardian of Example: He is carpenter by trade and has 12 He has served on the SGB already. According to him he Page 4
in Grade 8 years experience in his current job. He is also a skilful negotiator that he obtained as a union rep believes schools should focus on providing work related skills to high school learners After the nomination meeting it is important for the electoral officer to inform nominees that: - the school will send out a profile to inform parents of the nominees. No canvassing for votes will be allowed on the day of the elections - nominees may be present when the votes are counted at the end of the voting process 9.3 THE ELECTION DAY 9.3.1 Before the election starts The table below serves as a guide on the day of elections Activity Yes No Comments 1 The material list has been signed. 2 Information of all the nominees (profiles) are prominently displayed 3 The voting station is prepared before the start of the elections e.g. ballot papers prepared and voting booths in place and ballot boxes checked. 4 All staff allocation problems were resolved before the voting station opened. 5 All staff has signed the attendance register before the voting station is opened. 6 All observers present have presented their accreditation forms allowing them to be present at the station. 7 A rehearsal for voting and counting has been conducted with all staff before the start of voting 8 The voting station has been set up to ensure secrecy of the vote and an efficient flow of voters through the station. 9 All voting officers have been issued with the relevant equipment and stationery to perform their duties. 10 The voting process and procedures are open to observers to witness without interference with the process or voters. Page 5
9.3.2 During the elections Activity Yes No Comments 1 The voting process is explained to voters (by electoral officer) as soon as they enter the venue (either verbally or in the form of a poster) 2 No voters are allowed to vote (or granted access to the voting venue) whose names do not appear on the voters roll for that school. 3 All eligible voters whose names appear on the voters roll are ticked off before entering the voting station. 4 No voters are allowed to vote who fail any of the voter s integrity checks. 5 All eligible voters who comply with all requirements (and do not need any assistance) are being processed within 5 minutes 6 Voters who require preferential treatment (such as the elderly, disabled voters or pregnant woman) are assisted without prejudicing other voters. 7 All voters are issued with the correct ballot papers. 8 Ballots that are not stamped on the back with the official stamp are not allowed into the ballot box. 9 Complaints or objections regarding the assistance given to voters with special needs (e.g. those with visual impairment or low literacy levels) are resolved. 10 The electoral process and personnel are monitored in a manner that provides sufficient information for record keeping and that allows for timely intervention when required. 11 Objections from voters are recorded and decided in line with legislation. 12 Interactions with voters, personnel and other role-players are inclusive, non-partisan, respectful of human dignity and promote tolerance. 13 Potential or actual problems are identified and analysed in terms of actual impact on the electoral process. 14 Resolution of problems are justified by the situations and are suitable for addressing the problems effectively. 15 Problem-solving activities are in line with plans, legislation and/or specified requirements and promote the smooth running of the voting station. 9.3.3 The counting steps Counting of ballots takes places as soon as practically possible after the closure of the station for voting. The School Electoral Officer has to ensure that the ballot papers meet the 15 % poll in order for the counting to proceed. If not, counting stops and another date for the elections (while the nominations remains valid) is decided upon and should be communicated to the parent body within 7 days. The nominees are allowed to be present during the counting process Page 6
THE COUNTING STEPS The process set out below must be followed by electoral officers when counting ballot papers: Step1 Unfolding: Open ballot boxes, unfold ballots and place face down. Step 2 Sorting: Examine all ballots for the official stamp at the back and reject any ballot that does not have a stamp. Step 3 Reconciliation of ballots: Count all ballots face down. This number must match the number of ballots that were handed out and placed in the ballot box. Step 4 Counting: Turn the ballots face up and count the ballots per nominated candidates and record these totals as stipulated below. 6.5 ANNOUNCING AND RECORDING THE RESULTS: State to the whole meeting the name of each candidate and the number of votes cast for each Complete the counted ballot papers form in order of the most votes to the least votes; and Declare who has been duly elected. Please note: The person with the most votes is named or listed first and the one with least votes is named or listed last. Page 7
9.4 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS How many days after the nomination meeting must the elections be held? Do we need a quorum at the nomination meeting? The Guidelines do not indicate this. However the school must take into consideration the time needed to inform parents of the nominees. What is the minimum timeframes for a full day election? The Guidelines do not indicate this. The times decided upon must give all the parents an equal opportunity to cast their votes. Example: Should the election be conducted during the morning (when learners arrive at school) and again in the afternoon (when learners are collected) consideration must also given to parents whose children are using alternative transport because they are not available at that times. Must a full day elections be held for the other components of the SGB as well? No. The full day elections only pertain to the parent component No. A quorum is only needed at the poll. It should be noted that all parents must be invited to the nomination meeting. At this meeting parents must be given an opportunity to make further nominations. Can the elections be held over two consecutive days? The Guidelines do not indicate this. Schools are however encouraged to conclude the elections on one day. Do we need a 15% poll at the 2 nd election meeting if we were not successful the 1 st time? No. Page 8