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.

Article VIII

ARTICLE VIII

NOMINATION OF CANDIDATES FOR

JUNIOR GRAND WARDEN

Section 1. Lodge Initiative. Any Subordinate Lodge in this jurisdiction at its own initiative, may submit a name of a probable nominee to the position of Junior Grand Warden (JGW) for consideration of the District Council where it belongs. When such initiative is taken by one or more Lodges in the District, the District Supervisor shall secure from the Election Board, official recommendation forms and a list of all requirements in order to comply with submission standards and the preliminary screening process as prescribed.

Section 2. Preliminary Screening (Preliminaries). Lodge initiatives shall be screened by the District Council. The screening shall consider the basic eligibility requirements and qualifications of the persons named, as written and/or attached to their submissions.

2.1 The District shall forward the accomplished official recommendation forms of probable nominees, together with all required attachments and documents to the Election Board for pre-qualification.

2.2 When a District is under a Masonic Region, preliminary screening shall be on a regional basis, where all District recommendations shall be consolidated and deliberated upon by the Regional Council for the purpose of further screening and selection. The Regional Council shall then submit its recommendations to the Election Board.

2.3 Lodges at large that do not yet constitute a District shall be allowed to participate in the Preliminaries of the Districts where they are attached.

2.4 A group of Lodges that has not yet met the requirements to constitute a full District, but has petitioned and has been approved to comprise a Provisional District shall be allowed to join the Preliminaries of another District assigned to them for such purpose, by the Grand Lodge Executive Committee (EXECOM).

Section 3. Number of recommendations. The EXECOM shall determine and announce the number of recommendations that a District or Region may submit before the start of the period set for the Preliminaries. Preliminaries shall be timed in conjunction with District/Regional Council meetings or when practicable, during their local conventions period.

Section 4. Pre–qualification of Recommendees. The Election Board upon receipt of the District/Region recommendations shall review the eligibility and qualifications of all the recommended nominees. Verification of eligibility and qualifications shall be based on the attachments and documents accompanying the recommendation forms and when necessary, records of the Subordinate Lodges, the District/ Regional Councils and the Grand Lodge. Recommendations not conforming to the prescribed form, are defective, inadequate and/or without the mandatory attachment, documentary and/or legal requirements shall be disqualified. False information, tampered or fake credentials and covert or overt acts to influence the pre-qualification process shall constitute grounds for administrative sanctions and/or filing of charges for un-Masonic conduct against the persons responsible.

4.1 The Election Board shall transmit the result of pre-qualification to the EXECOM for its approval, and proper announcement by the Grand Master.

4.2 A pre-qualified recomendee for nomination as candidate for the position of Junior Grand Warden shall formally acknowledge and indicate in writing whether he accepts or declines his recommendation.4.3 Only those who sent their letters of acceptance of their pre-qualification to the Election Board not later than fourteen (14 days) before the Annual General Assembly/Election shall be included in the final list for deliberation of the Panel of Peers.

Section 5. Peer Evaluation. The Election Board shall issue the official Peer Evaluation forms to the Panel of Peers only after its members are sworn-in and assigned their place of work. Peer Evaluators shall not be allowed to add, delete, disregard, modify or alter any portion or provision of the Peer Evaluation form or otherwise amend any portion or aspect of the performance/qualification criteria, the grading weights, or the manner of scoring and ranking. Evaluation shall be as objective as possible, in appreciation of all entries, information, statements, attachments and documents submitted by the recommendee.

Section 6. Council of Elders’ Final Evaluation and Nomination.The Council of Elders acting upon the recommendation of the Panel of Peers shall conduct final evaluation and nomination. Deliberation shall consider leadership and management potentials, personality, preparedness, vision, plans, working knowledge about the Fraternity, and other qualitative aspects not covered by the Peer Evaluators. The Council may use any means or method it deems practicable and effective within the confines of this Code and the IGLPI Constitution. The final nomination of the three (3) candidates for the position of Junior Grand Warden shall be forwarded to the Election Board for announcement.

Section 7. Acceptance of Final Nomination. A final nominee shall accept, either verbally or in writing his official nomination before the actual election. Failure to do so shall be interpreted as a tacit acceptance.Section 8. Sanctions for Sudden Withdrawal or Refusal of Office. A nominee who has accepted or has been deemed to have accepted his official nomination but withdrew under questionable or malicious circumstances before the balloting is to take place; or declined his position after being elected without justifiable reason shall be liable for sanctions and penalties allowed by law.