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AMENDED BY-LAWS
OF THE
FEDERATION OF INDIAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE (PHILS.), INC.

ARTICLE IX

ELECTIONS

Section 1.

DATE AND PLACE OF ELECTION. The election of the members of the Board of Directors as provided for in Article VI of this By-Laws, shall be held every two years in Metropolitan Manila during the Annual Meeting which shall be held not later than the last week of January. The election shall be held at the place and hour as the Board of Directors may fix. Proper notices shall be served at least seven (7) days before such meeting to each qualified member.

Section 2.

SELECTION OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTORS. At least two (2) weeks prior to the election of the members of the Board of the Federation, the different Chapters in each region, thru the Regional Council, shall choose from among themselves their qualified representative in the Board of Directors of the Federation and who shall become an ex officio member thereof.

(As amended on June 30, 2009)
Section 3.

The Board may call for a Special Election whenever the situation warrants following the procedure for the conduct of the general elections and in accordance with these By-laws. However, such action will have to be ratified by the body at a general body meeting before the COMELEC is formed.

  1. BALLOTS. The election of Directors shall be through secret balloting. The ballots must be in printed form and numbered consecutively. When the ballot is filled and cast, the ballot shall not identify the voter and the secrecy of the vote shall be maintained. Each qualified member present at the meeting shall be furnished with one ballot, which shall be filled out with the names of candidates of his choice. He should fold the same and drop it in the ballot box provided for the purpose.
  2. THE RIGHT TO VOTE. The right to vote in the election of Directors shall be exercised by all qualified Active, Associate, Chapter, Affiliate, and Honorary members, either by the individual member or thru the authorized or alternative representative of firms and organizations. Proxy voting is not allowed; proxies held during election meetings shall be for quorum purposes only.
(As amended on June 30, 2009)
Section 4.

QUALIFICATIONS:

  1. To be qualified to vote, every qualified member must have paid his/her dues for the current calendar year and other outstanding accounts on or before the election day;
  2. To be qualified to run for office in the Federation, an Active member must:
    1. Have paid his/her dues for the calendar year of the election and other accounts not later than the filing of his/her nomination;
    2. Have been an active member or representative (authorized or alternate) of the Active member-firm for at least one year prior to the election. In the event the alternate representative runs for office, he / she shall have to be appointed as the Authorized representative and shall remain as the authorized representative for the duration of his / her tenure as Director if elected;
    3. Not have been elected as Director for two (2) consecutive terms of two (2) years each prior to the current election, even though he may represent a different member-firm;
    4. Be a member in good standing and at least twenty five (25) years of age, upon filing of nomination; and
    5. Be declared as a qualified candidate by the Committee on Elections in accordance with these By-Laws.
    6. An alternate representative may run for an office only after one year of his appointment as such or if he has been an authorized representative in the past for at least one (1) year, provided his status as representative is changed from alternate to authorized representative prior to the submission of nomination as provided for in these By-laws.
    7. All voting members shall have the privilege to nominate and second a nomination once.
    8. Proxies held for meetings involving elections and voting on amendments to By-laws shall be counted for quorum purposes only. Proxies will not be valid for the actual casting of ballots during elections and for voting on amendments to the by-laws.
    9. Any qualified candidate for election to the Board of Directors who has been duly nominated and seconded, and has accepted the nomination in writing shall not be allowed to withdraw after such nomination has been approved by the Committee on Elections. In case a candidate withdraws, he/she shall be disqualified from running in the subsequent election of the Board of Directors and neither shall he/she qualify for appointment as Director in the incoming and the next Board as a replacement for a resigned Director.
(As amended on June 30, 2009)
Section 5.

PROCEDURE OF ELECTION:

  1. Sixty (60) days before the annual election of the members of the Board (not later than the last week of November), the President, with the approval of the Board, shall appoint a Committee on Elections (COMELEC) composed of a Chairman and two (2) members from among the qualified members of the Chamber, to take charge of the election;
  2. No Director of the incumbent Board can be appointed as Chairman or as member of the COMELEC. In the event that any member of the said COMELEC is nominated for Director, he shall be deemed automatically resigned and shall forthwith cease to be a member of the COMELEC.
  3. Nominations shall be done by any of the following methods:
  4. Sealed nomination forms are to be delivered at the Federation's office and dropped in a sealed box, which shall be opened only at the closure of the nomination period by the COMELEC; or
  5. Viva-voce, subject to acceptance by the Nominee or by way of submission of duly established and accomplished nomination form on re-opening of nominations at the Election meeting.
  6. The nomination and acceptance of a minimum fourteen (14) qualified candidates shall be required at the closure of nominations. If after the lapse of the closure of nominations the minimum fourteen (14) qualified candidates are not attained, the nomination period shall be extended for another one (1) week. If after the closure of the extended period or on Election Day the qualified candidates are less than fourteen (14), then the nominations shall be re-opened on the floor at the meeting on Election Day before casting of ballots. The election of Directors shall then proceed if there is a minimum of twelve (12) candidates after the re-opening of nominations.
  7. In the event that there are only eleven (11) candidates, the COMELEC shall proclaim said candidates as the duly elected board by acclamation, without the necessity of casting the votes.
  8. In the event that there are still less than eleven (11) but at least five (5) candidates after the opening of nominations on the floor, the qualified candidates shall be acclaimed as Directors with the remaining seats to be filled by the Incoming Board already constituting a quorum in a meeting to be called for this purpose no later than one (1) week from the date of the election.
  9. In case there are less than five (5) candidates or no candidate at all, the Council of Past Presidents shall convene no later than one (1) week from the supposed date of elections and appoint the eleven (11) Directors who, along with the 3 Regional Directors, shall constitute the new Board of t he Federation.
  10. In case a Regional Council is not constituted or the Regional Council fails to select their Regional Director, the Board of eleven (11) elected Directors of the Federation will fill the vacant positions for the vacancy of Regional Director in the following order
    1. By appointing a Regional Director from among the Presidents of the Chapters in the Region with a vacancy, or failing this,
    2. By appointing a Regional Director from among the Active members of the general body who is deemed able to represent the Region.
    3. By appointing from among the members of the Chapters in the region if there is no Chapter Head who is willing to accept the selection.
(As amended on June 30, 2009)
Section 6.

THE COMMITTEE ON ELECTION.

  1. The Committee on Election shall be created by the Board of Directors and shall be an independent constitutional body and shall exist until the proclamation of the newly elected Board.
  2. The Committee on Election shall be accountable to the general body.
  3. All circulars/notices issued by the said Committee should be in harmony with the provisions of these By-laws and noted either the President, Vice-President or Chairman of the Committee on By-laws.
Section 7.

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS. The Committee on Elections (COMELEC) shall have the following duties and powers:

  1. To promulgate and circularize rules and regulations in accordance with this By-laws for the proper conduct of the election. This shall be done simultaneously when calling for nominations;
  2. To receive and screen the nominations of candidates and qualify them in accordance with this By-laws;
  3. Twenty (20) days before the date of the election, the COMELEC shall circularize the list of qualified nominees in alphabetical order;
  4. The COMELEC shall pre-qualify and prepare the list of qualified members to be nominated on the floor, before the opening of the nominations at the election meeting.
  5. The qualifications of the candidates for sealed nominations as approved by the COMELEC after the first and second call may be questioned in writing within three (3) working days from the date of receipt of such list. For nominations undertaken on the floor on election day, such nominations and qualifications of the candidates may be questioned only before the election process begins and shall be resolved by the COMELEC before the counting of the ballots.
  6. The COMELEC must act within three (3) working days from the date of receipt of such objection for nominations received on the first and second calls for nomination. However, if the petition involves interpretation of By-laws, the COMELEC shall refer the matter to the Committee on By-Laws and Legal Affairs and the Board of Directors and/or the Federation's Legal Counsel, for their opinion before making any decision. The decision of the COMELEC shall be final and announced within three working days from the receipt of the objection.
  7. Immediately after the voting, the ballots shall be counted and canvassed and the COMELEC shall announce the unofficial results of the election;
  8. The results of the election shall be final if no protest in writing is received within three (3) working days from the date of the election and the COMELEC shall proclaim the winning candidates as the newly elected members of the Board of Directors. However, if there is a protest, then the COMELEC shall act upon the said protest and resolve the issue within two (2) working days from the date of its receipt of the protest. The decision of the COMELEC shall be final and unappealable;
  9. The final proclamation shall be made by the COMELEC within seven (7) working days from the date of the election.
  10. The COMELEC shall follow the attached Timetable for elections.