Societies Election Policy
Updated 2014
What is an AGM?
 Stands for Annual General Meeting
 A round up of your society’s year and assessment of current committee roles
and profiles.
 Notes the start of the committee handover period. Elections must be held
before 1st March.
 A democratic process that shadows the main Union Elections.
Why hold an AGM and have committee elections?
As the Student’s Union is a democratic organisation, it relies on societies to be the
same. We want every student to have equal opportunities to participate and run
for committee. This guide outlines the main policies about running an election. If
you have further questions about the elections process do not hesitate to contact
VP Societies or the Societies Committee Secretary who will offer consultancy
support throughout the elections period.
What positions?
 Every society must have at least a Chair, Treasurer and Secretary.
 Many societies have other positions such as Events, Media, Social Sec e.t.c. This
should be reviewed before each AGM and positions added if deemed necessary.
 Any new positions deemed necessary before the AGM will need to be
supplemented with thorough role descriptions. This is to ensure that candidates
know exactly what would be expected of them within the role. Contact
Student Development Co-ordinator lauracrawford@lsu.co.uk if you want support
drawing together a role description for the new position.
For further information contact vpsocieties@lsu.co.uk
Societies Election Policy
Updated 2014
Timetable of Elections
 The Committee Elections must occur before March 1st.
 You must leave enough time to follow the appropriate procedure with
elections:
o 2 weeks before AGM- to reveal the positions up for grabs including what
each role entails. No candidate may start campaigning at this point.
o 1 week before the AGM- by an agreed time on the day all candidates
willing to run for election must have declared themselves to the
committee. As part of this they should submit a manifesto. There is no
limit to manifesto length or style; candidates are given the opportunity
to be as creative as possible. Candidates are reminded to produce their
manifesto in the most engaging and informative manner. At this point
online voting will open and candidates can begin campaigning.
 All society meetings and committee roles need to be publicised to the society
members at least 2 weeks before the AGM. This will be monitored by members
of the societies committee to ensure that all members are given equal
opportunities to run for a position and the expectations of each role are made
clear.
Nominations, Canvassing and Campaigning
 All societies should allow each individual standing to do a two-minute speech
on the evening of the AGM to articulate why they believe they would be a good
candidate for the role.
 Nominations should only be held at the AGM for positions that have not been
filled. Candidates that want to run for uncontested positions must follow the
same procedure making a two-minute speech why they would be suitable for
the role.
 Candidates must not personally discriminate against rival candidates. It is
perfectly legitimate for a candidate to voice why they believe their skill set and
experience would make them a better candidate. Despite this candidates must
not discriminate against other candidates on the grounds of race, religion,
For further information contact vpsocieties@lsu.co.uk
Societies Election Policy
Updated 2014
sexual orientation, gender, learning difference or disability, intellect,
appearance or political preference. This will be monitored during the election
period and any candidates seen to be defaming the character of another
candidate will be penalised.
 In order to keep the election as fair as possible the current committee must
not canvas or endorse a particular candidate in any way.
Voting in the AGM
 To ensure the fairest election procedures societies should conduct their
elections as a secret ballot. Whilst a show of hands vote is a voting process, it
often leads to group bias and can disadvantage certain candidates. Members
will be issued with anonymous voting slips with the names of the candidate for
each position. [See Ballot Paper on Essential Documents page]. The forms will
be submitted to the Chair and a designated committee member for counting.
 It is vital that the ballot slips have enough room on them for the named parties
and also for the vote of No Candidate or Re-open nominations; this is added in
case the members are unhappy with the candidates. For a template see the
essential documents page of the societies website.
 The outgoing committee are responsible for running the AGM and must ensure
they have sufficient ballot slips for the members and for the eventuality of an
uncontested position.
 To meet quorum at least 50% of members must vote in the AGM.
 Only members of the society are able to vote and each member can only vote
once for each position.
 If there are more than one place for a position (i.e. two Media Sec’s or Sport
Sec’s) then this needs be mentioned before any voting can take place.
 Questions from the members may be asked to the candidates; once again it is
advisable that these questions are limited to a fair amount and each candidate
is asked an equal number of questions.
The Count
For further information contact vpsocieties@lsu.co.uk
Societies Election Policy
Updated 2014
 The Chair of the AGM with another Member of the society, usually the
Secretary, should count all votes.
 A congratulatory speech should be given to the winner and thank all the others
who took part and were involved.
Last impact of old Committee
 It is the outgoing Secretary’s responsibility to ensure that all the new
committee contact details and minutes are sent through to the Societies
administrator and VP Societies within a week of the AGM.
 Within a week of being elected the old committee should hold a formal
handover meeting. All society resources and assets should be shared.
 Attending the Union training sessions is vital for newly elected committee
members. The new committee will be introduced to policies that govern
societies and will be an opportunity to ask questions about how to manage a
society. The old committee must inform the new committee of the dates of the
training session.
Resignations and votes of no confidence
All societies must have an appointed Chair, Secretary and Treasurer elected by the
members at an AGM or EGM. Each year the committee may review the roles
necessary and decide that more positions are necessary on the committee. If a
member of the committee chooses that they no longer wish to pursue the role or
the society feel an individual is not pulling their weight then they may initiate a
vote of no confidence. Loughborough Students’ Union implement this procedure to
ensure that all societies have the ability to function effectively- this is not a
mechanism to victimize committee members. We ask that you discuss your
concerns about a committee member’s performance and give them an opportunity
to improve before resorting to a vote of no confidence.
How to do it?
Step 1
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Societies Election Policy
Updated 2014
If a Chair chooses to resign they must submit their resignation in writing to VP
societies. If any other committee member chooses to resign they must submit their
resignation to the committee Chair.
Step 2
Following the early resignation of a core committee position (Chair, Treasurer or
Secretary) an EGM must be held. Another committee member can assume the role
in the interim period.
Step 3
A vote of no confidence in any of the committee either may call members at least
15% of the membership of the society or 10 (whichever is greater), or by a twothirds majority vote at a Club or Society committee meeting.
Step 4
If a vote of no confidence is called then it is essential to hold and EGM. Members
must be notified of the occurrence of the EGM. A vote of no confidence must be
supported by 2/3 of those present and voting.
Step 5
If the vote of no confidence is successful then the Chair or Treasurer of the society
(dependent on who is still in position following the EGM) must contact VP
Societies. Following the vote of no confidence another EGM must be held to elect a
new committee member.
For further information contact vpsocieties@lsu.co.uk