Paragraph 1. General regulations
Following rule determines the order of an election of administration and faculty administration .
Paragraph 2. Announcement of the election.
1. Academic and representative council of the university sets the election for a position of a rector.
2. Academic council sets the election for the heads of the office of a rector, administration office and quality assurance office
3. the council of the faculty sets an election of a dean of the faculty.
4. Announcement about the election should be available for everybody and laid out on various locations within the university premises, it should be placed on university web-site.
Paragraph 3. Election committee
1. election committee is formed in the university for an election. A committee has binding obligations to conduct elections/ competitions , that are set forth by legislative act of the university, exceptions are the rules of employment of additional personal and heads of structural units and vacancies for the heads of students self-government.
2. Committees are composed of no less than three members and no more than nine. Number of the committee members is determined by the academic council and is approved by the representative council.
3. Members of the election committee are approved by the rector and resolution of the academic council, which is finally approved by the representative council. As a member of the committee, a public figure may be invited.
4. Head of the committee is chosen from the members during academic council meeting . He/ she leads the meetings, signs the resolutions and fulfils other duties.
5. A secretary may be any of the member of the committee and is elected during the meeting of the committee. He/ she is elected by secret ballots of majority of the attendees. He/ she determines the agenda, records the proceedings, registers correspondences, candidates of the election , makes final records of the election results etc.
6. An election committee is authorized if half of the members attend the meeting.
7. Final result is made by majority and open vote.
8. A Head of the committee, a secretary and members can be compensated, according the budget of the university .
Paragraph 4. Conflict of interest
Member of the election committee must not be an employee who works at the administration office or candidate of the member of faculty administration or participant in the election as a candidate.
Paragraph 5. Regulations of registration for administration candidates
1. Registration of the candidates for the administration is fulfilled by the election committee.
2. Registration dates are determined by the appropriate legislative act of the university.
3. To refuse registration of the candidate, a committee should point out the deficiencies in the document and candidate should by informed by phone. Recordings of the conversations is made by the committee.
4. A candidate may correct the documentation in specified time. He/ she , also, may bring a claim to the committee after receiving the notification within 24 hours.
5. The resulting body of decisions is made within 3 days by the committee.
Paragraph 6. Regulations of the representative council election
1. To appoint council members is carried out publicly and equally with open ballot.
2. Representatives of academic council are elected by professors, associate professors, assistant-professors and assistants of the faculty and students are elected by all students of the university.
3. Registration lasts 10 days, if the application form lacks essential information to be processed, applicant should be contacted by the committee with a request for additional details or resubmission within 48 hours.
Paragraph 7. Election of representative council speaker
1. Representative council elects speaker with open vote and majority for four-year term.
2. 3 days prior to the election, 3 members of the council nominates a candidate to election committee. A candidate is nominated when half of the voters approve of the nominee. If the candidate does not gather enough votes, second round is announced; two best candidates are chosen and voted. Election is won by the candidate who gets more than half of the votes. If the second round could not determine the winner, new election date is set forth within 5 days. The same rules are applied to the new election. Nominees, who participated in the previous election, could not be take part in the new election. Speaker election is hold by election committee.
3. If the power of representative council member is terminated till due, candidate , who gathers more votes has opportunity to be part of the council. If there is no aforementioned case, election takes place with regular order.
Paragraph 8. Registration and election process for candidates of academic council
1. Registration lasts 10 days and it is fulfilled by the election committee. If the answer for registration is negative , candidate should be informed about the reasons so he/ she can correct the deficiencies in 48 hour.
2. A candidate has a right to file a claim if his/ her candidacy is denied in 24 hours. Decision is received in 3 days’ time.
3. Each member of the council and every student in students’ self-government have a right to vote.
Paragraph 9. Announcement of election for rector’s position
1. Announcement is made about the election and registration by the academic council.
2. Announcement about the election is made one month prior to the registration in accordance with the Georgian legislature and university regulations. Principals of equality and transparency should be maintained during the election. Announcement is placed on the web-site, in the university paper and in the premises of the university. Registration last from 2 to 3 weeks. Actual election takes place from 1 to 2 months after the registration is over.
3. Date for the registration, deadline, list of necessary documentation and election date is pointed out in the announcement.
Paragraph 10. Registering the candidates for the position of university rector.
1. The election committee organizes and supervises the registration.
2. If the candidate is rejected , reasons should be substantiated in written form.
3. Reasons and deficiencies should be pointed out in the letter for rejection. They can be corrected in 48 hours.
Paragraph 11. Election of the rector
1. Academic council evaluates plans of each candidate , presented by the candidates.
2. Rector of the university is elected by the closed vote, majority of the academic council. Election process and procedures for maintaining closed vote are realized by the election committee.
Paragraph 12. Election of the head of the administration office
1. Announcement of the election is made by the academic council.
2. Criteria for candidacy, necessary documentations are determined by the academic council and pointed out in the announcement.
3. Registration lasts 10 days. If the registering a candidate is denied , deficiencies should be explained to the them so they can have 48 hours to correct them.
4. Applications are examined in the meeting, by secret ballot and majority of the academic council members , decision is made and presented to the representative council.
5. Denial should be substantiated in written form.
6. In accordance with article 5, paragraph 12 , to file a claim is made in accord with the established order.
7. If the power of the head of the administration office is terminated till due, representative council appoints temporary replacement.
Paragraph 13. Approval of the head of the administration office by the representative council
1. Representative council appoints a person on the position within 10 days, by secret ballot and majority vote.
2. Election committee supervises votes and summing up of the results. Committee publicly announces results on election day.
3. If the candidate is not approved , academic council should present another candidate to the representative council in scheduled date.
4. If the candidate is not approved for the second time, academic council elects new candidate, after the new selection.
Paragraph 14. Election for the position of the head of the quality assurance office
1. Academic council announces election for candidacy of the head of the quality assurance office.
2. Criteria and necessary documentations should be included in the application. They are approved by the academic council. Registration lasts 10 days. In case of rejection, proper explanation should be indicated so candidates could have opportunity to correct them within 48 hours.
3. After receiving applications, academic council approves one of the candidates and presents the name to the representative council.
4. The Representative council approves the candidate on the position within 10 days with majority and closed votes. In case of a decline, council should disclose the rezones for the refusal. Closed vote procedures are provided by the election committee.
5. If the candidate is not approved on the position, academic council starts new campaign for the election.
6. To start the new campaign, dates should be announced.
7. If the power of the position is terminated till due time , new procedures are started, in accordance with the rules of this paragraph.
Paragraph 15. Election of a candidate to the position of a dean of a faculty.
1. Faculty council announces the election and places the ad for contest and registration process.
2. Announcement should be made one month prior to the registration in accordance with the Georgian legislation and university protocol. Election should take place in a fair environment and each step should be transparent. An ad should be disseminated via internet, university paper and premises of the university.
3. Registration process lasts 2 to 3 weeks. The election takes place after the registration is over within 2-3 weeks.
4. Admissibility of the Applications for the position is examined and considered by the election committee.
5. In case of a decline, reasons should be pointed out by the committee so candidates would be able to correct them within 48 hours.
6. A candidate has a right to lodge a complaint to a Committee within 24 hours. Decisions should be received in 3 days.
7. Election is conducted by secret ballots and it is responsibility of the faculty .
Paragraph 16. Election for the position of head of the quality assurance office of the faculty.
1. After ten days of he/ she takes over as the head of the quality assurance office, he/ she supplies the faculty council with the list of candidates for the head of the quality assurance office.
2. Candidates could be one or more than one person/s
3. The head of the quality assurance office of the faculty is elected by the majority and by secret ballot and it is officially registered by the faculty council.
4. Within 3 days, new candidates’ list should be disclosed by the head of the quality assurance office if they could not elect the person for the position.
5. Vote by the Secret ballot is ensured by the election committee.
Paragraph 17. Pre-election campaign and propaganda
1. A candidate has the right to start a pre-election campaign. All candidates have equal rights.
2. Faculty members, who take part in the election, have a right to carry on propaganda for a candidate.
3. On the Election Day, campaigning work and propaganda are forbidden.
4. To participate in a campaign a person should be:
a) A member of the committee;
b) A member of the administration office;
5. Various events can be considered as an electoral campaign or propaganda (such as: meetings, open debates and discussions, printed materials, speeches, announcement, distributing photos or written materials etc. to obstruct activities noted above is forbidden.
6. Pre-election campaign should not obstruct the studying process in the university. Campaigning during the lectures is forbidden. To be biased or interfere in any way with the campaign is or any conduct, unworthy of a candidate is also, forbidden.
7. University personal should not deny candidates or voters from using the premises of the university, unless there are valid reasons for it. Space for the campaigning should be available and easily accessible for candidates.
8. Reasons for decline, noted in unit 7, should be in written form and within 2 weeks it can be appealed to election committee. Decision should be made within 24 hours.
Paragraph 18. Ballot paper
1. A person can give his/ her vote by checking in the ballot paper and put it to the box.
2. Ballot paper is printed by the university and is prepared by the election committee. The chairman of the committee takes responsibility for those procedures.
3. on the ballot paper should be written:
a) name of the university.
b) Administrative body for which election is called
c) Date.
d) Note for checking the candidates on the ballot paper
e) List of the candidates.
4. In case of the election of representative council, ballot paper is printed for academic personal and students separately. As it is noted in unit 3, it should be mentioned for whom it is intended.
5. Quantity of the candidates is determined by the quantity of the vacancies.
6. To give a person more than one ballet paper is strictly forbidden.
7. A ballet paper is given to the person after identification procedure. (Student id or special certificate for academic personal)
Paragraph 19. Ballot-box
1. University supplies the election committee with ballot-boxes. Quantity of the boxes is determined by the election committee.
2. Name of the election body, name of the university and appropriate body are specified on the ballot-box by the committee.
3. Before the election, ballot-box is examined to make sure that it is empty. It is sealed by the committee members and supervisors. A control card is placed with the first voter’s ballot paper, which is the one of the force of authenticity.
4. The control card is made in duplicate copy and first voter’s requisites are written on it. Control card is made for the first voter and each of the committee member signs on it. One copy stays with the election committee
5. If the box is damaged during the process, committee has a right to invalidate the results if it’s considered that, damage effects the election in any way.
6. When the box is opened, if there is no control card, or data does not match the data in the control card, kept with the committee, results are quashed.
Paragraph 20. Organizing the election
1. University pays all charges related to election.
2. University assigns a room for the committee.
3. Election committee members distribute their shares of responsibility for election of academic council and election of representative council by draw before 10 o’clock in the morning . positions after the draw are:
a) Registering clerk
b) A person who signs the ballot.
c) A person who controls the flow of participants.
4. Chairman of the committee does not participate in the drew.
Paragraph 21. Procedures of election
1. The voter takes ballot from the registering clerk, checks in the list , signs and goes to the member of the signing committee, who signs in specified column. Voter goes to polling booth, circles the name of the candidate or candidates, puts ballot in the box and leaves the room. More than five voters in the room are forbidden.
2. Polling booth can also be a space, which is isolated and secured.
Paragraph 22. Summation of the academic council and representative council election
1. Vote ends on the same day of election, at 17 o’clock.
2. After the polling is over, members start counting voters and check it with closing minutes for election returns.
3. If 1/3 of the voters participated in the election, it is considered accomplished.
4. After counting, box is opened to count the ballots.
5. Representative and academic council election ballots or for personal or student ballots and invalidated ballots put aside separately.
6. Ballot is considered invalid if:
a) The ballot is not signed by the member of the committee.
b) If the candidate’s name is not circled.
c) It is unclear which name is circled.
d) When the name of the faculty is not mentioned.
e) if more than one persons’ name is circled.
7. Ballot is considered tainted if it is changed by the voter. Right part of the ballot is cut by the chairman of the committee and “faulty “ is written on the back.
8. Right after counting the votes, closing minutes is filled with following date:
a) Number of the voters ,based on the quantity list
b) Number of the voters, who participated, based on the signature.
c) Total of the ballots in the box.
d) Number of the Invalid ballots .
e) Number of the Faulty ballots.
f) Votes for each candidate.
g) Signatures of all members of the committee.
9. Candidates of the representative council of the faculty are chosen for their best results, based on the regulations of the university.
10. Candidates of the academic council are chosen for their best result, based on the regulations of the university .
Paragraph 23. monitors
1. Applicants, who wish to monitor the election , can address the committee 5 days prior to the election day.
2. Legal person achieves a status of the monitor by his/ her representative, whose names are mentioned in the application.
3. A person is not allowed to monitor if he/ she is:
a) A candidate .
b) Has a position at the administration office.
c) A Voter for the faculty , he/ she wants to work as a supervisor.
4. A person who is tasked with monitoring and is allowed to attend the meetings of the election committee during the working or administrating of complaints.
5. A monitor has the right to:
a) Interfere if he/ she notices violation of the procedure of any kind, address to chairman about the breach and asks for taking immediate preventive measures.
b) Draw a record if the chairperson does not take actions, mentioned in unit A
c) Addresses the committee with the complaint.
6. A monitor should not interfere with the election process.
7. The election committee should not interfere with a monitor’s work.
Paragraph 24. Minutes of breach
A candidate, a supervisor/ monitor, a member of the committee or voter for the appropriate faculty has a right to file a complaint if he/she notices any violation during the election day. He/she should note :
a) name, surname, address .
b) Status of the person, who draw a minute.
c) Nature of the violation .
d) Time of the violation.
e) Signature of the chairman of the committee or a note if there is a refusal of the signature.
f) Names of the witnesses and their signature.
g) Request of the person, who draws a minute.
h) Signature.
Paragraph 25. Announcing the results of the election and appeal
1. Results are announced the same day as the election. Committee should place the results in accessible space.
2. To file a complaint should happen in 24 hours after the results are declared by the candidate, a monitor, a member of the committee or a voter. if the complaint is not received before the date of the request ,committee will not consider a complaint.
3. Following requisites should be included in the complaint:
a) A name, surname and address.
b) Status of the complainant.
c) Nature of the complaint.
d) Names of the witnesses.
e) Personal request of the complainant.
f) Signature.
4. Copy of the violation should be enclosed.
5. Committee is obliged to consider a complaint within 3 days.
6. The election is invalidated if the violation has been considered substantial for the fair result.
Paragraph 26. announcing the final results
1. Final results are placed in accessible place.
2. Final results are effective right after announcing.