COSECSA Council Nomination Form

1. The Constitution

Article 17: Council of the College of Surgeons

There shall be a Council composed of Fellows of the College.

17.1. The Council shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary General, Treasurer, the four Chairpersons of the College standing Committees elected under the terms of Article 26.2 (iii) of this constitution, the Registrar, two Country Representatives from each of the constituent countries of the College, two Overseas Fellows' Representatives and the president of Women in Surgery Africa (WISA).

17.2. The immediate past President shall however not hold any office of the Council and shall be in Council for one year only.

17.3. The Council shall manage the affairs of the College through the Executive Committee (EC), Finance and General Purposes Committee (FGPC), Examination and Credentials Committee (ECC), the Education and Training Committee (ETC), and the Research and Publications Committee (RPC).

Article 20: The Registrar of the College of Surgeons

The Council shall appoint a Registrar of the College who shall be a prominent Fellow of the College. The Registrar shall hold office for a two-year term and be eligible to re-appointment, as the Council deems necessary.

28.2. Election of the Executive Committee Members

• (i) The President and Vice President (president-elect) shall be elected at an Annual General Meeting from amongst the Foundation Fellows and Fellows who must have served as Members of the Council for at least 7 years.
• (ii) The Secretary-General and the Treasurer shall be elected at an Annual General Meeting from amongst the Foundation Fellows and Fellows who must have served as Members of the Council for at least 5 years.
• (iii) The Chairman of each of the four Standing Committees shall be elected at an Annual General Meeting from amongst the Foundation Fellows and Fellows who must have served as Members of the Council for at least 5 years.
• (iv) The registrar shall be an ex-officio member appointed by the Council.

28.3. Tenure of Office

• (i) The President shall hold office for a term of two years and shall not be eligible for re-election following the expiry of the term of office.
• (ii) The Vice President shall hold office for a term of two years at the end of which shall be the President-Elect.
• (iii) The other officers shall hold office for a term of two years and shall be eligible for re-election for two further terms, provided that no Fellow shall serve more than 6 consecutive years in the same office.

2. The By-laws, Part II: (6) Election of the Council

(i) Notification of vacancies

Not later than on the first day of October of each year during which there is to be an election, a notice shall be given of the forthcoming election, inviting nominations for the vacancies consistent with the provisions of the Articles of the College.

(ii) Election process

Every vacancy in the Council shall be filled during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the following manner:

• (a) Every candidate for membership of the Council shall be a fully paid-up Fellow of the College and shall be nominated in writing by at least two fully paid-up Fellows. It shall not be competent of a candidate to accept nomination to more than one post at the same time.
• (b) Every nomination paper, duly signed by the Proposer, Seconder and Candidate, shall be lodged digitally or otherwise with the Secretary General of the College at or before the Annual General Meeting.
• (c) Voting papers shall be issued to all paid-up Fellows attending the Annual General Meeting. Council may decide to use other strategies for voting such as electronic or digital voting systems as appropriate.
• (d) All Fellows eligible to vote, and desiring to do so, shall mark upon the voting paper received by them against the name of each candidate for whom they intend to vote.
• (e) Voting papers filled in by the electorate shall be returned to the Secretary General or Registrar of the College for counting of votes.
• (f) Any voting paper, adjudged by the Chairman of the election, who is the Registrar of the College, to be improperly or incorrectly filled in shall be declared invalid.
• (g) The votes shall be counted by scrutineers who shall be Members of the College, appointed by the President or Vice President at the Annual General Meeting and shall report to the President or Vice President who shall declare officially which candidates are elected.
• (h) In the event of an equality of votes in any election for membership of the Council and such equality affecting the results of the election, the President, or failing him, the Vice President shall have the casting vote.
• (i) The election of new members to the Council as aforesaid shall take place from the close of the ordinary general meeting at which members of the Council, whose place such new members are elected to fill, retire from office.
• (j) Any casual vacancy on the Council shall be filled by the Council from amongst Fellows of the College and as long as the Council finds it reasonably practicable. Any such Council member appointed to fill a casual vacancy, shall be deemed to have been appointed ad hoc to such vacancy, and he shall accordingly hold office only for the remainder of the period for which the vacating member would have retained office, but he shall be eligible for formal election to that post.

OFFICIAL COSECSA Constitution, effective 30 January 2025.

1. Procedure

• The constitution must be strictly adhered to.
• At the Council meeting in August, the potential changes and vacancies should be openly discussed.
• Office bearers should actively plan for their succession.
• There shall be no vote at the Council meeting.
• The outgoing office bearers must retire formally after appointing a returning officer (the Registrar) to oversee the election of new office bearers.
• The voting process at the AGM should be transparent and involve only Fellows who are eligible to vote.
• The secretariat should prepare a register of Fellows in good standing: up to date and fully paid up for at least the previous 5 years.
• Nominations may be made at the AGM, but not later once the AGM has closed, and these must be in writing to the SG, with signatures of proposer, seconder and candidate.
• Elections should either be held in a separate room, or non-eligible / non-voting fellows and members should be asked to leave before voting takes place.

2. The Timelines

• August Council Meeting: Preliminary discussion of possible changes and vacancies.
• 1 October: Notice of Council vacancies to Fellows.
• 1 November: Nominations for Country Representatives.
• 1 November: Nominations for Overseas Fellows' Representatives.
• December Council Meeting: Ratification of nominations.
• AGM: Final nominations.
• Election: Voting by Fellows.
• Post-AGM Council Meeting: Induction of newly elected members.

3. The Country Representatives

• Evidence of a democratic selection process by the relevant Local Chapter or Surgical Society is required.
• A letter signed by the President and Secretary of the Surgical Society must be submitted to the Secretary General in advance of the AGM and no later than the December Council meeting.
• New Country Representatives must be endorsed by the AGM.
• Where a Country Representative changes mid-term, the name must be submitted for ad hoc approval, valid until the next election.

4. The Overseas Fellows' Representatives

• Evidence of a democratic selection process for candidates for the two Overseas Fellows' Representative positions is required.
• Overseas Fellows present at the AGM will vote for the Overseas Fellows' Representatives.
• COSECSA should not have to pay for the cost of travel of the Overseas Fellows' Representatives.