Chapter 3 Election Procedure |
Section 1 Planning of Electoral Affairs |
| Article 15 |
The board of directors of a credit cooperative will decide and prepare the electoral work and schedule three months before the current term of the elected/appointed officers expires. |
| Article 16 |
For the election of membership representatives, the board of directors will appoint several members from each electoral district to serve as electoral personnel (for handing out, calling and tallying ballots) and monitors; for the election of directors and supervisors, members (or membership representatives) who attend the general meeting of members (or membership representatives) will recommend by general acclaim several persons among themselves to serve as the electoral personnel and monitors to handle the voting and electoral affairs; for the election of chairman of directors and chairman of supervisors, the Department of Finance of the municipal government or the county (city) government will dispatch staff to serve as monitors.
The candidates in each of the elections may not serve as electoral personnel or monitor. |
| Article 17 |
For the election of membership representatives, a credit cooperative shall, forty-five (45) days before the scheduled election, finalize the membership registry and produce an electoral roll that contains the names of members who have at least one year of membership up to the date before the credit cooperative announces the mattes of candidate registration and voting right in accordance with the articles of incorporation, and post such roll at the entrance of each business unit for public display for ten (10) days. Where there is error in the electoral roll, members should ask the credit cooperative to make correction during the display period.
Members are still allowed to apply for change of membership address after the end of roll publication in the preceding paragraph, but will exercise their right to elect and right to be elected according to the original districts delimited by the cooperative.
Members who are admitted by proof of occupation and move into a business district after the end of electoral roll publication may not exercise right to elect and right to be elected for the current term. |
| Article 18 |
The exercise of right to elect and right to be elected by members of a credit cooperative shall be conducted based on the membership registration address, which shall be identical to the household registration address or office address of the member. |
| Article 19 |
A credit cooperative may conduct the election of membership representatives by district for the sake of geographic convenience. The number of membership representative in each district shall be decided according to the number of members with voting right in the district on the same proportional basis. |
| Article 20 |
The election of membership representatives, directors and supervisors shall be conducted by registration of candidacy. The credit cooperative shall, in one month before the scheduled election, post the information on the total number of eligible voters, number of persons to be elected, qualifications of candidates, and starting and end dates for registration of candidacy at the entrance of each business unit for at least seven (7) days, and during the publication period, post the same information on a local newspaper for at least three (3) days.
If, at the end of candidate registration or at the end of qualification review, the number of candidates is less than half of the number of persons to be elected, or the number of director or supervisor candidates is less than three, the credit cooperative shall undertake the candidate registration process again according to the provisions in the preceding paragraph, and previously registered candidates shall re-register.
The qualifications and calculation of years of membership for candidates who register for candidacy according to the provisions in the preceding paragraph shall be the same as those for previously registered candidates.
A member may not register as a director candidate and a supervisor candidate at the same time. |
| Article 21 |
For the review of candidate qualifications, the board of directors and the board of supervisors shall respectively recommend at least five directors and supervisors to form a qualification review committee. The qualification review committee will, without making distinction to candidates with professional or general qualifications, review the qualifications of the candidates by the order of registration, and determine whether the candidates possess professional qualifications. The review committee will be dissolved automatically after the end of the election.
Where a member of the qualification review committee is also a candidate, or the spouse or a relative within second degree of kinship of a candidate, or an interested person to a candidate, the member shall excuse himself/herself from the review of the candidate's qualifications.
The credit cooperative will notify each candidate of the review results. Candidates who did not pass the review should be allowed to apply for a second review within a prescribed period of time. |
| Article 22 |
The order of qualified candidates on the ballot will be decided by lot drawing by the qualification review committee before announcing the list of candidates. |
| Article 23 |
Candidates who desire to withdraw their candidacy shall do so by serving the credit cooperative a written request before lot drawing for the order of candidates on ballot, or else the withdrawal request will not be accepted. A candidate who has withdrawn from the election may not re-register his/her candidacy. |
| Article 24 |
A credit cooperative shall notify the Department of Finance of municipal government or the county (city) government seven (7) days before an election, and ask the municipal or county (city) government to dispatch supervising personnel for the elections of directors, supervisors, chairman of directors and chairman of supervisors.
For the election of membership representatives, directors, or supervisors, a credit cooperative shall, seven (7) days before the scheduled election, notify each voter of the time and place of election, number of persons to be elected, and list of candidates. For the election of membership representatives, a notice shall be posted at the entrance of each business unit for at least seven (7) days. |
| Article 25 |
A credit cooperative shall produce all election ballots and affix its seal on the ballots.The ballots for the election of directors, supervisors, chairman of directors and chairman of supervisors shall also be signed by the supervisory personnel from the Department of Finance of municipal government or the county (city) government. |
Section 2 Voting |
| Article 26 |
The election of directors, supervisors, chairman of directors and chairman of supervisors shall be held at a meeting, in which at least the majority of total eligible voters must be present in order for the election to proceed. |
| Article 27 |
In the election of a credit cooperative, all voters must vote in person; voting by proxy is not allowed. |
| Article 28 |
In the elections of membership representatives, directors, and supervisors, voters, after having their Citizen Identification Card checked against the electoral roll by the electoral personnel, will sign their name on the electoral roll, pick up the ballot, and leave the ballot in ballot box on the spot after casting their votes. |
| Article 29 |
In the election of a credit cooperative, the voters shall cast their own votes. However, illiterate or disabled voters who are unable to do so may ask the election monitor to cast the vote according to their instruction. |
| Article 30 |
The membership representatives shall be elected by single secret ballot where members in each district will elect a candidate in their district. |
| Article 31 |
In the election of directors and supervisors, two or more votes for the same candidate on the ballot will be counted as one vote, provided, that the number of candidates the voter votes for does not exceed the number of persons to be elected. |
| Article 32 |
The chairman of directors or the chairman of supervisors is elected by directors or supervisors by single secret ballot that carries the names of all directors or all supervisors. |
| Article 33 |
In the election of a credit cooperative, the votes are counted on the spot after the end of voting hours. After the vote counting, the ballots will be sealed together by the monitors and the electoral personnel, and preserved for three years by the credit cooperative. |
Section 3 Elected to Office |
| Article 34 |
The election of membership representatives is determined by the number of persons to be elected and the votes each candidate receives to produce a list of elected and alternate candidates. Winner among candidates receiving the same number of votes will be determined by lot drawing on the spot.
The election of directors and supervisors is determined by the number of persons to be elected without distinguishing candidates with professional or general qualifications and the votes each candidate receives to produce a list of elected and alternate candidates. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the number of elected directors that meet the qualifications specified in Article 9 herein is less than the required minimum, qualified candidates with more votes will be elected to fill the vacancies until the required minimum is met.Winner among candidates receiving the same number of votes will be determined by lot drawing on the spot.
In the election of chairman of directors or the chairman of supervisor, the candidate receiving the majority of votes from eligible voters present in the meeting will be elected. Where no candidate receives a majority of votes, a runoff election between the two highest vote-getters will be held, in which, the candidate receiving more votes will be elected; if candidates in the runoff receive the same number of votes, the winner will be determined by lot drawing.
When the elected is determined by lot drawing, if the candidate is not present or does not draw the lot after three calls, an election monitor will draw the lot on his/her behalf. |
| Article 35 |
In the elections of membership representatives, directors and supervisors, a credit cooperative shall announce and display the list of elected and alternate candidates on the spot and note the elected candidates that meet the qualifications provided in Article 9 herein.
The elected and alternate candidates are not required to be present at the time of announcement; an elected candidate or an alternate candidate who declares withdrawal on the spot is deemed forfeiting the office. |
| Article 36 |
After the election results are announced, a credit cooperative shall produce a record on the names of elected candidates and votes received on the spot and submit the same to the Department of Finance of municipal government or the county (city) government for reference within seven (7) days. |
| Article 37 |
After the results of directors and supervisors election are announced, a credit cooperative shall display photocopies of credentials and documents of elected directors and supervisors evidencing their compliance with provisions in Articles 6, 9, 40 and 41 herein in bound volume at its head office for perusal by members. The aforementioned photocopies shall be affixed with the same seal as that shown on the original. |
Section 4 Objections to Election and Filling up Vacancies |
| Article 38 |
A voter or candidate who has objection to the election results should raise objection with the election monitor on the spot. A voter or candidate who is not present at the election but having objection to the election results should, within three (3) days after the announcement of election results, raise a written objection with the Department of Finance of municipal government or the county (city) government. If the written objection is delivered by mail, the timely submission of the objection will be determined by the postmark;objection received past the prescribed deadline will not be accepted. |
| Article 39 |
A credit cooperative shall notify the elected candidates in three (3) days after the announcement of election results. Elected candidates who are unwilling or unable to take office should, within three (3) days after the receipt of such notice, notify the credit cooperative of his/her decision in writing. The vacancy left thereby will be filled by alternate candidate in order. Where there are no alternate candidates, the candidate who received the next highest vote will fill the vacancy. When the elected seats of directors with professional qualifications do not meet the required minimum, the vacancies thereof shall be filled by professionally qualified alternate directors, and the outcome shall be reported to the Department of Finance of municipal government or the county (city) government for reference. Where no professionally qualified alternate directors were announced following the end of election, but the number of vacancies for such seats is less than half of the required minimum for directors with professional background, by-election may be postponed until the general meeting of membership representatives for the following year. The preceding provision also applies to the situation where vacancy appears after all seats for professionally qualified directors were filled in the election, while none of the alternate directors meets the qualification requirements.
An alternate candidate who sends a written statement to the credit cooperative indicating his/her decision not to fill the vacancy will relinquish his/her qualification as an alternate.
In the election of directors and supervisors, if the number of director candidates is less than three or if the number of directors taking office is less than three, or if no elected supervisors take office, and the seats are not filled after two announcements of by-election, the board of director will submit the matter to the general meeting of membership representatives and suggest a resolution be adopted to dissolve the board of directors. If no such resolution is adopted, the central competent authority may assign people to fill the vacancies and act in the capacity of director or supervisor until the by-election is completed. |