The Senate has been established by the Council. The Senate’s constitution includes elected members of the academic staff.
All elections of academic staff members to the Senate and College Boards shall be governed by these Rules, made by the Senate.
Any reference in these rules to Departments or Heads of Department shall also be interpreted as a reference to other equivalent bodies as defined 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, such as the School Boards.
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".
"Member of the Academic Staff" shall mean full-time teaching and research staff of the City University of Hong Kong employed on Academic and Equivalent Administrative Staff terms of service, excluding those appointed on temporary terms of service.
"Candidate" shall mean a person who, having been properly nominated for membership of the Senate, has signified his or her willingness to stand.
"Elector" shall mean a member of the academic 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.
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: 14 days following the announcement of an election.
Second Nomination Period: not earlier than seven days, and not later than 10 days, after the conclusion of the Nomination Period.
Announcement of Poll: not later than three days after the conclusion of the Nomination Period or the Second Nomination Period, as appropriate.
Polling Period: two days, commencing not earlier than four days after the Announcement of Poll.
Publication of Results: not later than three 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 Department, comprising all members of the academic staff of the Department 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.
Notwithstanding 6.1 to 6.3 above, a member’s period of office shall terminate immediately if he or she ceases to be a member of the academic staff of the City University of Hong Kong.
A member of the academic staff elected to the Senate under these Rules may resign by notice in writing to the Senate Secretary.
On the appointed day, the Senate Secretary shall publish an Announcement of the election stating the reason for the election, the period of office of the candidate(s) to be elected, and the timetable for specific stages of the election, as set out in section 4 above.
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. 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 candidate who shall confirm his willingness to stand.
If the candidate is not in Hong Kong during the nomination period, the proposer shall provide evidence of the candidate’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 noon on the appointed day. Late nominations will be declared invalid.
If no nominations, or fewer nominations than the number of vacancies, are received, a Second Nomination Period shall be declared. The length of the Second Nomination Period shall be determined by the Senate Secretary. 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 has 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, notwithstanding the provision under section 4 above, their names shall be published within three days after the day appointed for the closure of nominations.
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 first nomination form for that candidate received by the Senate Secretary shall be regarded as the operative nomination.
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.
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 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.
Staff who will be away from Hong Kong during the Normal Polling Period may request the Senate Secretary to make special arrangements to enable them to participate in the election. They will be required to furnish evidence that they will not be in Hong Kong during the Normal Polling Period. Following the publication of nominations, a ballot form may be obtained, in person only, from the Senate Secretary; the staff members will be required to seal the completed ballot form in the envelope provided, which must be signed on the outside. The envelope will then be kept in a ballot box until the appointed day for the counting of votes.
Each elector shall cast his vote in person 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 of the academic staff, 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 a notice giving the names of the successful candidates, the number of votes cast for each candidate and the number of votes declared 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 not later than 48 hours after the publication of the result. If a complaint is so lodged, the Senate Secretary shall investigate it and, if he finds the complaint substantiated, shall so inform the candidates and report the same to the President who may appoint two persons to further investigate the complaint if he thinks fit.
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 result 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: 24 November 2008
