Article VII

ARTICLE VII

ELECTION BOARD AND

ELECTION RELATED BODIES

Section 1. Election Board. Pursuant to Section 7, Article VIII of the IGLPI Constitution and its mandate to prepare, conduct and safeguard the Annual election of officers of the Grand Lodge, the Election Board shall have the duty, power and authority to:

1.1 Create a Panel of Peers, an Electoral Tribunal and any such permanent or ad-hoc committees to assist in its functions.

1.2 Enforce all election rules and regulations.

1.3 Supervise the conduct of elections.

1.4 Attest to the results, declare and proclaim elected officers.

1.5 Receive and pre-qualify in so far as adequacy of form, basic eligibility requirements, and proper documentation are concerned, all recommendations for nomination to the position of Junior Grand Warden passed by the District/ Regional Councils.

1.6 Reject faulty, incomplete or inadequate submissions; those with discrepancies and controversial entries; information found to be false, or documents found to be tampered with or fake.

1.7 Receive, for transmission to the Electoral Tribunal all election related charges against any recommendee.

1.8 Ensure that peer evaluation including the ranking report is accomplished on the first day of the Annual General Assembly.

1.9 Attest to the correctness of the ranking report of the Panel of Peers and transmit the same immediately to the Council of Elders.

1.10 Enforce all election related orders of the Electoral Tribunal.

1.10 Secure from the Committee on Credentials, the list of Election Accredited Subordinate Lodges and allow only those which are duly accredited to vote in the Grand Lodge election.

1.11 Conduct information campaign relevant to the process and conduct of elections including but not limited to calendar of activities, regulations, requirements and prohibitions.

1.12 Keep an accurate record and documentation of the election1.13 Perform such duties as may be required to ensure a fair and honest election.


Section 2. The Panel of Peers. It shall be an ad hoc body of not more than five (5) members, all non-voting Past Masters from accredited subordinate Lodges created in situ by drawing lots under the supervision of the Election Board. They shall evaluate the recommended nominees to the position of Junior Grand Warden passed by the Election Board. Its evaluation shall be submitted to the Council of Elders through the Election Board, for final evaluation.

2.1 An accredited subordinate Lodge may recommend for selection to the Panel of Peers, not more than one (1) name of non-voting Past Master from its ranks, by filling out a prescribed form and submitting it to the Election Board representative at the registration area, not later than 9:00 A.M. of the first day of the Annual General Assembly.

2.2 The name shall be numbered and sealed by the Election Board with a corresponding detachable tab bearing the same number, for use in the raffle.

2.3 The raffle shall be held in a designated place within the premises of the Annual General Assembly and open to the brethren.

2.4 The Chairman of the Election Board shall conduct the drawing of the numbered tabs, verify or cause to be verified the selected names and announce the composition of the Panel.

2.5 Immediately after its composition, the Panel of Peers shall be sworn in and briefed by the Election Board. It shall elect a Chairman and a Vice Chairman who shall act as official tabulator of the Panel.

2.6 The Panel shall evaluate the recommendees for nomination to Junior Grand Warden using a points system based on the criteria prescribed in the official Peer Evaluation form.

2.7 Evaluation/deliberations shall proceed continuously until every recomendee is rated and accurately ranked.

2.8 All members of the Panel are required to stay in their posts until deliberations have been completed, except for toilet trips when such facility is not available inside the room.

2.9 No member of the Panel shall be allowed any form of communication outside the deliberation room during the proceedings.

2.10 The Panel shall prepare a ranking report to be signed by all its members and submit it to the Election Board. Tie scores shall be considered tied for the same rank.

2.11 The Panel of Peers shall be considered dissolved after its report has been received and signed by the Election Board.2.12 Discrepancies found in the scores or ranking tally after the Panel has been dissolved shall be referred to the Electoral Tribunal.

Section 3. Functions of the Council of Elders during the Grand election. From the order of ranking submitted by the Panel of Peers, the Council of Elders shall conduct final evaluation of the top five (5) recommendees and nominate three (3) as official candidates for Junior Grand Warden. In case any of these candidates become ineligible, incapacitated, or is disqualified before the balloting, the other two (2) recommendees may be reconsidered.

3.1 Final evaluation shall be based on a set of criteria and likewise, use a points system to evaluate the recomendees.

3.2 The Council shall meet the recomendees either individually or as a group for evaluative interview; may hold the same in front of an audience. It may devise any means it deems effective or necessary in the performance of its work.

3.3 In the event of a tie in the evaluations, all names figuring in the tie shall be placed in the same rank, desired number of final nominees notwithstanding.

3.4 The Council of Elders shall deliberate privately until the final nominees are known.

3.5 With the assistance and presence of the Election Board, it shall make official announcement and presentation of candidates not later than 10:00 A.M. on the second day of the General Assembly.

3.6 A candidates’ forum may be conducted when practicable.

Section 4. The Electoral Tribunal. The ad hoc Electoral Tribunal shall be created by the Election Board and its members sworn in, as soon as the first recommendation for nomination to the position of Junior Grand Warden is formally received. It shall be considered dissolved after the elected Junior Grand Warden shall have been installed.

4.1 It shall be composed of one (1) Chairman, one (1) Vice Chairman and three (3) members, all chosen by the Election Board from the incumbent or past Grand Officers who shall investigate, hear, and decide on all formal, written election-related complaints.

4.2 Its decision shall be final and immediately executory, without prejudice to the filing of appropriate charges with the Judicial Council for un-Masonic conduct and/or violation of the Constitution, statutes, by-laws, and other pertinent laws and regulations.

Section 5. Functions of the Committee on Credentials during Annual Grand Elections. The Committee on Credentials shall issue Election Accreditation Certificates to Subordinate Lodges that have submitted their annual reports and paid their dues and assessments to the Grand Lodge; draw up the official list of qualified electors registered in the Annual Grand Assembly, and transmit copies thereof to the Election Board.

Section 6. Other Election Related Committees. The Election Board shall be authorized to create other permanent or ad-hoc committees in the course of performing its duties.