Section 1

The election of the Board of Directors of Akava Special Branches shall comply with the Finnish Associations Act, the rules of Akava Special Branches and these election rules.

Section 2

The election of the Board of Directors shall be held every two years in accordance with section 18 of the Rules of Akava Special Branches.

Election Committee

Section 3

The spring Union Meeting held in an election year sets up the Election Committee and appoints a secretary for it. A chairperson, along with six (6) ordinary members and three (3) deputy members, is elected to the Election Committee. The Election Committee elects a vice-chair from among its number.

The Election Committee has quorum when the chairperson or vice-chair and at least half of the members are present.
The term of office of the Election Committee lasts until the spring Union Meeting of the next election year.

Section 4

The duties of the Election Committee are as follows:

• make a proposal for the chairperson of the Board of Directors of Akava Special Branches
• make a proposal for the other members of the Board of Directors and their personal deputies
• make a proposal for the auditors and deputy auditors for the following year
• make a proposal on the composition of the bodies under the Board of Directors in accordance with section 21 of the Rules of Akava Special Branches
• provide member organisations with instructions on documents concerning the formation of an electoral coalition and electoral alliance
• issue instructions that concern deadlines and are essential for the conduct of the election
• perform other tasks assigned to it by the Union Meeting

Election of the chairperson

Section 5

The election of the chairperson of the Board of Directors of Akava Special Branches requires a majority of the votes cast. If there are more than two candidates, the candidate who receives more than half of the votes cast in the first round of voting will be elected as the chairperson. If no candidate receives more than half of the votes cast in the first round, a new election will be held among all of the participating candidates. If one of the candidates receives more than half of the votes cast in that election, they will be elected as the chairperson. If no candidate receives the required majority of the votes, a third vote will be held.

The third vote will be held as a runoff between the two candidates who received the most votes in the previous round. The candidate who receives more votes will be elected. If both candidates receive the same number of votes, the outcome will be decided by drawing lots.

Election of the other members of the Board of Directors

Section 6

When voting on a proposal made by the Election Committee, a proportional list election will be used in accordance with the provisions of section 29, subsection 3, paragraph 1 of the Finnish Associations Act.

Section 7

In a proportional representation list election, a member organisation of Akava Special Branches forms an electoral coalition when it puts forward a list of candidates. Member organisations can also form an electoral coalition together.
Electoral coalitions can form electoral alliances between themselves.

A party that forms an electoral coalition shall prepare a list of candidates. An electoral coalition shall have a representative.
If electoral coalitions form an electoral alliance, they must prepare a written agreement that is signed by the representatives of the electoral coalitions.

Each electoral coalition and electoral alliance shall have its own identifier that is mentioned in the notification or agreement concerning its formation.

No candidate shall be listed as a candidate for more than one electoral coalition, and no electoral coalition shall be included in more than one electoral alliance.

Section 8

Documents concerning electoral coalitions and electoral alliances must be submitted to the Election Committee by the deadline set by the committee.

The Election Committee reviews the documents and decides on the approval of the electoral coalitions and electoral alliances for the combination of lists of candidates.

Section 9

When preparing a combination of lists of candidates, the approved lists of candidates are organised so that the ordering of the electoral coalitions adheres to the agreement signed when the electoral alliance was formed. In the lists of candidates of electoral coalitions, the candidates are listed in the order in which the electoral coalition has presented them to the Election Committee.

The order between electoral alliances is determined by drawing lots.

Lists of candidates that are excluded from election alliances are added to the combination last, and the order between them is determined by drawing lots.

Section 10

Proportional representation list elections are held by using closed ballots.

At the Union Meeting, the tellers provide the meeting representatives of the member organisations with a number of ballots, as designated by the chair of the meeting, that corresponds to the number of votes at their disposal.

The election shall take place by casting the ballot or ballots into the ballot box by member organisation, in alphabetical order. A ballot shall be rejected if anything other than the identifier designated by the chair of the meeting has been written on it.
The minutes of the meeting shall specify the number of ballots cast, the number of approved ballots and the number of rejected ballots, including the reasons for their rejection.

Section 11

The comparative index for candidates who are in the same electoral coalition is determined so that the candidate occupying the first position on the list is given the total vote given to the list as his or her comparative index, the candidate occupying the second position is given half of the total vote, the candidate occupying the third position one-third of the total vote, and so on.
In an electoral alliance, the candidates are ranked according to the comparative indices determined in accordance with the first paragraph. The first candidate’s final comparative index then becomes the total vote given to the electoral alliance, the second candidate’s final comparative index becomes half of the total vote given to the electoral alliance, the third candidate’s final comparative index becomes one-third of the total vote given to the electoral alliance, and so on.

All of the candidates are then ranked according to their final comparative indices, and a total of 10 members are elected as members of the Board of Directors, starting with the candidate who receives the highest comparative index.

Section 12

The deputy members of the Board of Directors are personal deputies, and they are elected in the same election as the ordinary members.

Section 13

The supplementation of the Board of Directors shall take place at the Union Meeting in accordance with the provisions of these election rules as applicable.

Section 14

Decisions on approving and amending these election rules shall be made by the Union Meeting. Amendments to the election rules must be mentioned in the notice of the meeting.