Community Council/council rules referendum

Community Council Rules Amendment Referendum

Since a few days ago we have been on our own and having a council body that its function to communicate with Nokia no longer serves a purpose. Another body with similar functionality is however provisioned by the ByLaws of the Hildon Foundation. We need to set up election rules for this new body (Hildon Foundation Council) and eventually Maemo Community Council accepts the duties of Hildon Foundation Council.

The Maemo Community Council election rules ( http://wiki.maemo.org/Community_Coun...ection_process ) are a good base to start with, but they have a drawback: While there is a provision to avoid unelected members for less than 5 members, this provision does not cover the actual number five resulting in all 5 candidates to be appointed councillors (what has currently happened). This should be corrected and the clause "If fewer than 5 candidates stand for election, the 3 with the most votes are elected to the council. " must be changed to "...fewer than or equal to five...". For the same reason, the clause "If there are fewer than 3 candidates when the nominations close, the election cannot be held. " must be changed to "...fewer than or equal to three...".

Thus, a referendum is called with the following question:

In order to repair special cases in MCC rules, and bring them into alignment with HFC rules, the following: (#MCC Rule List) shall become (#HFC Rule List). Are you giving granting to council to execute those changes: Yes or No?

Follow the discussion here: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?p=1330915

MCC Rule List

this is the old version, for your reference

The 5 council members will be elected by the community.

  1. Nominations will be accepted 2 weeks before the election begins from any community member with a karma of 100 or above.
  2. Elections last for 1 week.
  3. Only community members who have had maemo.org accounts for over 3 months, and have karma of 10 or above, may vote.
  4. Each community member eligible to vote gets a single ballot.
  5. The 5 nominees voted for most, as counted by a single transferrable vote system are elected.
  6. Nominees with a professional interest in Maemo, such as working for Nokia - or any other company involved in Maemo-related software development - must declare their interest when advertising their nomination. Failure to do so may result in the Nokia Community Manager, or the outgoing Council, declaring their nomination invalid and so bar them from standing in the current election.
  7. There is no limit to the number of times a council member can stand for re-election.
  8. The date of the next election will be set by the council chair, not more than 6 months after the previous election.
  9. The election date must be publicised at least 1 month in advance of the election.
  10. If fewer than 5 candidates stand for election, the 3 with the most votes are elected to the council.
  11. If there are fewer than 3 candidates when the nominations close, the election cannot be held.
    1. The nomination period will be extended by 1 month and the election postponed similarly.
    2. If, after 1 month's delay, there are still fewer than 3 candidates; the outgoing council will decide - in conjunction with Nokia's Community Manager (currently Quim) - about how to proceed. The preferred solution is to encourage more members of the maemo.org community to participate and re-run the election, but all options are open.
  12. Changes to any of the above rules must be approved by community referendum.
    1. Voting in such referenda will be open to anyone eligible to vote in the council elections.
    2. The referendum options must be debated for a minimum of 1 month prior to the referendum.
    3. Referendum voting will be open for the same length of time as the council elections.

HFC Rule List

this is / will be the new version of same rules for the council. Changes are highlighted for your convenience

The 5 (or 3) council members will be elected by the community.

  1. Nominations will be accepted during a 2 week period at least one week before the election begins from any community member with a karma of 100 or above*.
  2. Elections last for 1 week.
  3. Only community members who have had maemo.org accounts for over 3 months, and have karma of 10 or above*, may vote.
  4. Each community member eligible to vote gets a single ballot.
  5. The 5 nominees voted for most, as counted by a single transferrable vote system are elected.
  6. Nominees with a professional interest in Maemo, such as working for Nokia - or any other company involved in Maemo-related software development - must declare their interest when advertising their nomination. Failure to do so may result in the Nokia Community Manager, or the outgoing Council, declaring their nomination invalid and so bar them from standing in the current election.
  7. There is no limit to the number of times a council member can stand for re-election.
  8. The date of the next election will be set by the council chair, not more than 6 months after the previous election.
  9. The election date must be publicised at least 1 month in advance of the election.
  10. If fewer than or equal to 5 candidates stand for election, the 3 with the most votes are elected to the council.
  11. If there are fewer than or equal to 3 candidates when the nominations close, the election cannot be held.
    1. The nomination period will be extended by 1 month and the election postponed similarly.
    2. If, after 1 month's delay, there are still fewer than 3 candidates; the outgoing council in conjunction with the Hildon Foundation Board of Directors shall decide how to proceed. The preferred solution is to encourage more members of the maemo.org community to participate and re-run the election, but all options are open.
  12. Changes to any of the above rules must be approved by community referendum.
    1. Voting in such referenda will be open to anyone eligible to vote in the council elections.
    2. The referendum options must be debated for a minimum of 1 month prior to the referendum.
    3. Referendum voting will be open for the same length of time as the council elections.

*The exact eligibility requirements are determined by the HFC according to the Hildon Foundation bylaws in the Electorate and Nomination Requirements, but the current council proposes keeping the same elibility requirements.

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