GIJN Election — 2017

This November, member representatives of GIJN will vote to elect seven members of its board of directors and to choose the site of our next global conference. The election will be held electronically for one week, from 12:01 am, Sunday, November 12 through 11:59 pm, Saturday, November 18, 2017, South African time.

Each of GIJN’s 155 member organizations is entitled to one vote, which is cast by its designated representative (on record with the GIJN Secretariat). If member organizations are unsure who their representatives are, please contact us.

In November, electronic ballots will be emailed to member representatives.  Here are the ten candidates currently running and the four proposals to host the 11th Global Investigative Journalism Conference:

GIJN Board Candidates

Global Conference Proposals

GIJN’s board consists of 15 members. Of these, seven seats are now up for election — all for a period of two years.

Board Election Rules

The Current GIJN Board

Board Election Rules (Bylaws)

To be eligible to run, candidates must belong to a GIJN member organization and their candidacy must be endorsed by that organization.

One board-member position is reserved for a representative of the host organization for the next global conference.

GIJN divides board members into the following regions and two election groups:

Group 1: North America, Latin America/Caribbean, Middle East/North Africa.

Group 2: Europe, Asia/Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa.

This year we will vote on the regional members from Group 1 and four at-large board-members.

For the three regions in Group 1, voters will choose one member to represent that region. Voting will be open only to members based in that region, and members can vote for only one candidate.

If only one candidate, or no candidates, run for the board in that region, no election will be held for that region. If only one is running, he or she will be elected. If two or more candidates get equal votes, the election committee will decide by flipping a coin.

Representatives of the full GIJN membership are entitled to vote for election of the four at-large members. Here each membership organization can vote for a maximum of 4 board-members.

If an individual has already been elected as a regional representative, he or she shall be removed from the list of elected at large representatives. Similarly, if an individual’s election would mean one region exceeds the allowable amount of four at-large representatives, he or she shall be removed from the list of at-large representatives.

The four candidates with the most votes are elected, unless it will conflict with the two rules mentioned above. If there is a tie in the voting, the decision will be made by the election officer flipping a coin.

The board member for the organization hosting the next global conference does not count in the calculation on maximum five members in the board from one region.

If there are more candidates than seats, we will hold an election using electronic voting. Voting will open at 12:01 am, Sunday, November 12, 2017, and end at 11:59 pm, Saturday, November 18, 2017, South African time. The voters are the designated representatives of GIJN member organizations. Each organization receives one vote.

John Bones, executive director of SKUP, who is not on the board, will serve as the election officer, overseeing the voting process, with the assistance of the GIJN staff. Results will be certified by the GIJN Executive Director, overseen by a GIJN committee of board members not up for election this year.

The results of the electronic voting will be announced following completion, tabulation, and certification of the vote. Immediately after, the new board members will replace the previous members.