Executive Board / Electronic Session / EB188/08/12
188thSession / 30March 2012 / 20 March 2012
Original: English

Report on the Elections of the European Regional Committee Executive Board vacant positions

  1. Recalling that due to some misunderstanding about the competences to prepare the elections of the European Region Executive Board vacant positions,which should be held at the 2nd Ordinary Session of the European Region General Assembly, the elections were not called and not realized.
  1. During the discussions at the 187th Ordinary Session of the Executive Board held in Abu Dhabi, the President contested the interpretation of the Secretary of the European Regional Committee Executive Board that the duty to perform the formalities to call the elections belonged to the President.
  1. The President recalled to the Executive Board Members about the history of the events highlighting the main points that contradicted the version and conviction of the Secretary of the European Regional Committee Executive Board.
  1. Since the elections for all positions of the European Regional Committee Executive Board was not fulfilled at their 1st Ordinary Session of the European Region General Assembly, at the request of the European Members, the 184th Executive Board Session held in Paris, decided to appoint two members of the WFO Executive Board to help the Region on the preparations for elections to be held at the 2nd Regional Ordinary General Assembly. The Executive Board Members decided to attend the Region’s request and approved the Decision EB 184/11/10.
  1. The appointed Executive Board Members to perform this task were the Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs, Mr. Isidro de Brito and the Advisor Mr. Nedim Kaya. The 24th Session of the General Assembly ratified the decision of the Executive Board stated on the Decision GA 24/07/10.
  1. At the beginning of 2011, the Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs sent to the Presidency Office a template of the “Call for Elections”, which were the simple copy of the previous call and to which the President responded positively on the documents advising to start the process only when the venue of the next General Assembly would be confirmed.
  1. It is true that from this time the President was not involved anymore in the process, since there were two appointed Executive Board Members to conduct the matter, and was very surprised when she received a message from the Advisor Mr. Eric De Wasch on November 9th, 2011, requesting information about the European Regional General Assembly and the elections, to which the President responded that she was also waiting to hear any news from the European Regional Committee and the appointed Executive Board Members about the elections.
  1. Only at that time the President took note that nothing had been done and when the matter was pointed as her obligation and fault, she refused to discuss the matter further and decided to bring the issue to the Executive Board. Nevertheless the Presidency Office supported by the Vice President for Financial Affairs prepared the convocations and support documents for the 2nd Ordinary Session of the European Region General Assembly, which were sent to the European Members by the Presidency Office. There was no more able time to call for elections.
  1. This issue was discussed exhaustively at the 2nd Ordinary Session of the European Region General Assembly held on December 3rd, 2011, and the Secretary of the European Regional Committee was emphatic in affirming that she had no competence to prepare or call the elections, nor the appointed members but this task had to be performed by the President and the Presidency Office.
  1. The President brought to the attention of the Executive Board Members that she was very upset with the events because in her almost 13 years as the President of the Organization she never failed to perform any task delegated to her, and she would not accept the imputations done to her in this matter.
  1. Therefore since this duty was being claimed to be hers, she requested members of the Executive Board to mandate the President to prepare the elections for the vacant positions for the European Regional Committee Executive Board to be held on the 3rd Ordinary Session of the European Region General Assembly.
  1. After hearing the oral report of the President about the incident on the organization for the elections of vacant positions for the European Regional Committee Executive Board and the request of the President for this task to be delegate to her, the Executive Board Members decided to take note of the incident and delegated to the Presidentand the Presidency Office to prepare the elections for the vacant positions for the European Regional Committee Executive Board to be held on the 3rd Ordinary Session of the European Region General Assembly.

DECISION EB 187/08/11
The Executive Board Members, after hearing and reflecting on the oral report of the President about the organization for the elections of vacant positions for the European Regional Committee Executive Board, decided to approve the request of the President and delegate to the Presidency Office to prepare the elections for the vacant positions for the European Regional Committee Executive Board to be held on the 3rd Ordinary Session of the European Region General Assembly.
  1. For the President’s surprise on February 7th, 2012, the Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs sent an e-mail to the President and to the Vice President of Financial Affairs annexing all formal documents to call for elections of the European Region Executive Board vacant positions, requesting the President to review the documents in order to allow the Secretary of the European Regional Committee to send it to the European Members.
  2. The Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs also requested to the Vice President for Financial Affairs to set the deadline for the European Members to pay their membership fees up to April 30th, 2012, in order to allow them to candidate and to vote in the mentioned elections in an Extraordinary General Assembly to be held in Istanbul at the time of the European Region Conference in May 7th, 2012.
  1. The President responded to the Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs that due to the past misunderstandings and according to the decision EB 187/08/11 the preparations for the elections of the European Region Executive Board vacant positions was delegated to the President and it should be held at the 3rd European Region Ordinary General Assembly.
  1. The President also informed the Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs that elections could not be held in an Extraordinary Regional General Assembly since according to the Regional Rules of Procedures an Extraordinary Regional General Assembly could be convoked only by the Regional Committee Executive Board or the majority of the Regional Committee Members and for a very specific and urgent issue.
  1. The President also informed the Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs that at the 187th Executive Board Session she informed Members that at the time of the European Regional Conference settled by May 2012 she would meet with Members in order to define how the tasks and conduct of the organization of the elections would be divided between the President and the European Region Members.
  1. The Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs responded to the President that he did not agree with the President and to his opinion the call for the mentioned elections should be done immediately in order not to further jeopardize the work of the Regional Committee, which is incomplete.
  1. Since there is a divergence of opinions and interpretations regarding the call for elections for the vacant positions for the European Regional Committee Executive Board between the President and the Vice President for Legal and Administrative Affairs and taking into account the EB Decision 187/08/11, the President request the Executive Board Members to manifest their opinion on the issue.
  1. The President also would like to note that to settle different and earlier deadlines to the European Members to pay their membership fees is not a fair attitude when WFO accepts Membership Fees up to one day before the WFO’s Ordinary General Assembly.

The Executive Board Members are invited to reflect on the above reported issue and express their opinions accordingly on the 188th Executive Board Session.

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