In accordance with section 47 of the Aarhus University By-laws, the Board has determined the following. Approved by the board of directors at its meeting on 3 June 2020.
1.-(1) The rector is responsible for ensuring that elections are held.
(2) The rector determines the detailed rules for the elections and the corresponding deadlines, and is responsible for planning and holding elections for the Board, academic councils, PhD committees, boards of studies, etc. The rector decides whether elections are to be centralised or decentralised.
(3) The rector appoints an election committee with representatives for the academic staff, the technical and administrative staff, and the students. The rector appoints the chairman of the committee and authorises the chairman to perform tasks on the rector's behalf in accordance with this election procedure.
2.-(1) The rules relating to the length of the election periods, voting rights and eligibility for the Board are set out in section 17 of the Aarhus University By-laws.
(2) The rules relating to the length of the election periods, voting rights and eligibility for other collegial bodies are set out in Articles 7, 8, 9 and 10.
3.-(1) Ordinary elections are held during the autumn term. The deadline for determining who has voting rights and eligibility is 1 October. Elected bodies commence work on 1 February.
(2) Ordinary elections are held such that they are completed on 1 December at the latest.
4.-(1) The university prepares an election circular containing the most important rules and deadlines for the elections. The election circular is published on the university's website.
(2) The election circular must include rules regarding the following:
- the individual bodies, election areas and number of mandates
- the length of the election periods
- conditions for voting rights and eligibility
- deadline for submitting election lists
- deadline for objections to election lists
- rules and deadline for nomination of candidates and lists
- deadline for announcing the nomination of candidates
Deadline for entering into list pacts and electoral pacts.
- deadline for objections to the nomination of candidates
- date and time for holding elections
- form of voting
- counting of votes
- date and time for announcing election results
- deadline for complaints regarding elections.
5.-(1) The electorate is divided into five election groups:
Election group I (full-time academic staff and teachers) comprises staff members working 18½ hours per week or more in positions covered by the ministry's memorandum on the position structure for academic staff, and not defined in the memorandum as part-time positions. Clinical professors and clinical associate professors are considered the equivalent of full-time academic staff whose main job is at the university. The election group comprises staff members covered by the position structure for academic staff with research tasks at governmental research institutions. The election group comprises staff members covered by the position structure relating to the Bachelor of Engineering and export engineer degree programmes, as well as staff members employed in accordance with the rules for assistant and associate professors at the business administration and language degree programmes at business school departments.
Election group II (part-time academic staff and lecturers) comprises other staff members covered by the ministry's memorandum on the position structure for academic staff, and whose employment involves a minimum of 100 salaried hours during the semester in which the election is called, or 200 salaried hours in all during the academic year in question. Clinical instructors in dentistry, including senior clinical instructors of dentistry regardless of weekly working hours, belong to the group of part-time academic staff and lecturers. The election group includes teaching assistants and specialist teachers at the Department of Dentistry and Oral Health, regardless of weekly working hours.
Election group III (technical and administrative staff) comprises all technical and administrative staff members working an agreed minimum of 18½ hours per week.
Election group IV (students) comprises students enrolled at the university in full-time degree programmes. PhD students who do not fall under Election Group I because of their employment situation belong to Election Group IV.
Election group V (part-time students) comprises students enrolled at the university in part-time degree programmes.
6.-(1) The rector prepares election lists of individuals entitled to vote and eligible for election. The election lists are published on the university's website to enable any objections to be made before the deadline determined in the election circular. After expiry of the period allowed for objections, changes to the election lists cannot be called for, but the rector can correct actual errors in the lists as far as is practically possible.
(2) Individuals who fall under one of the groups mentioned in Article 5 – and who are included in the election list on 1 October or at the time the election is held – are entitled to vote and are eligible for election to collegial bodies to the extent stipulated in section 17 of the By-laws and Articles 7, 8, 9 and 10 of these election rules.
(3) Individuals who are on leave for a period of more than 12 months on 1 October or on the date of the election are not entitled to vote and eligible for election and are not included in the election lists.
7.-(1) Representatives of the academic staff, including PhD students employed at the university, are elected by and from among the full-time employees (election group I) for a period of four years, cf. section 22 of the By-laws.
(2) Student representatives are elected by and from among the students enrolled in full-time degree programmes (election group IV) for a period of one year.
8. PhD committees consist of representatives of the academic staff and PhD students. The number of members and the composition of the committees are determined by the dean when the committee is appointed and can be changed after a hearing of the PhD committee in question.
(2) Representatives of the academic staff, except PhD students employed at the university, are elected by and from among the full-time employees (election group I) for a period of three years.
(3) PhD student representatives are elected by and from among the PhD students (election group IV) for a period of one year. Salaried PhD students who are part of the group of full-time academic staff members (election group I) have the status of students as far as the appointment to PhD committees is concerned.
9.-(1) (2) Boards of studies consist of an equal number of representatives of the academic staff and students. The number of members is determined by the dean when the committee is appointed, and can be changed after a hearing of the board of studies in question.
(2) Representatives of the academic staff on boards of studies are elected for three years at a time by and from among the teachers (election group I) teaching subjects within the area of the board of studies concerned, cf. (4) below.
(3) Student representatives on boards of studies are elected for one year at a time by and from among the students (election group IV) studying within the area of the board of studies concerned, cf. (5) below.
(4) After consulting the board of studies in question, the dean can decide whether part-time teaching staff should have voting rights and eligibility and, if so, whether they should constitute a separate
area of representation.
(5) After consulting the board of studies in question, the dean can decide whether students enrolled in part-time degree programmes should have voting rights and eligibility and, if so, whether they should constitute a separate area of representation.
10. The election areas for each election group correspond to the areas of the individual bodies unless otherwise decided in accordance with (2) below.
(2) The dean may decide that an election area for an academic council or one of the faculty's boards of studies or PhD committees should be divided into areas of representation.
(3) Voting rights and eligibility only apply within one election group, for one of several parallel collegial bodies, and for one election area within a single body.
However, the rector may grant someone voting rights and eligibility for election to several parallel bodies. Individuals affiliated with several areas may communicate where they wish to exercise their voting rights and eligibility before a fixed deadline. If no such statement is made, the rector decides where the rights are to be exercised.
11.-(1) Elections are based on lists according to a system of proportional representation with the option of forming list pacts and electoral pacts. The elections are determined using the divisors 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.
(2) Elections are held electronically. All ballots are secret.
(3) There are no restrictions regarding re-election to collegial bodies, cf. section 17(5) of the By-laws concerning elections to the Board.
12.-(1) Members of election groups I and III cannot refuse nomination for election to a collegial body. However, no member can be entered against his/her wish on a list including other candidates.
(2) Staff members elected or appointed by draw, cf. Article 21(1) and (2), are obliged to join the body and participate in its work.
13.-(1) The maximum number of names on a candidate list is twice the number of members to be elected. However, up to ten candidates may always be listed.
Subsection 2 The candidate lists must be accepted in the e-election system by the candidates, who thereby commit themselves to accepting election.
(3) Repealed
(4) The nomination of candidate lists for the Board must have five nominators with voting rights from the election group and the election area. A candidate is automatically a nominator for the list on on which he or she is nominated, but this must be documented in the election system. No one can act as a nominator on more than one candidate list.
(5) In case of prioritised listing, the order of the nominated candidates cannot be changed after submission of the list unless all candidates – and nominators for the Board election – have accepted in a written declaration that one or more named individuals are entitled to change the original order of priority. The order cannot be changed after expiry of the deadline for nominations.
(6) The order of approved candidate lists is determined by a draw after expiry of the deadline for nominations and before publication of the candidate lists.
(7) Approved candidate lists are published before a date determined in the election circular.
(8) Objections to the published nominations must be submitted in writing before a date determined in the election circular.
(9) The nomination of candidates must take place electronically via the e-election system. The detailed rules on online nomination of candidates are set out in the election circular.
List pacts and electoral pacts
14.-(1) List pacts and electoral pact may be entered into the e-election system. The list owner in the election system sends a request for list pact and/or electoral pact to all candidates. If no objections are received from the candidates no later than the day before the deadline for notification of list and electoral pacts, the list or electoral pact is considered to have been entered into.
(2) Notification of list pacts and electoral pacts must be given to the Elections Secretariat.
(3) Approved notifications of list pacts and electoral pacts must be announced prior to a date determined in the election circular.
(4) Objections to the published list pacts and electoral pacts must be submitted in writing before a date determined in the election circular.
15. If the number of candidates listed in an election area is lower than the number of candidates to be elected, the ballot will be cancelled.
(2) If all the listed candidates appear on the same list, the ballot is cancelled, unless the list comprises a greater number of equally ranked candidates than the number to be elected. The Election Committee declares the candidates on the list to be elected in the order listed. Non-elected candidates are regarded as substitutes for the elected candidates.
16.-(1) The first step is to determine the number of mandates won by each list of candidates. If the election involves electoral pacts, or list pacts that are not part of electoral pacts, the votes for the candidate lists that have formed electoral pacts or list pacts are totalled. The number of votes cast for each candidate list, electoral pact or list pact is divided by 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. until each number of votes has been divided an equal number of times as the maximum number of mandates that can be allocated to the candidate list, electoral pact or list pact in question. The largest electoral quota achieved in this way gives the list, electoral pact or list pact in question the right to the first mandate. The second-largest quota gives the list, electoral pact or list pact in question the right to the second mandate, and so forth until the total number of mandates required has been distributed between the different lists of candidates, electoral pacts or list pacts. If the electoral quotas are of equal size, the allocation is determined by a draw. The draw is carried out by the chairman of the election committee at a public election committee meeting.
(2) The number of mandates allocated to an electoral pact is divided between the candidate lists and list pacts that make up the electoral pact, using the same procedure. The mandates allocated to a list pact are divided in the same way between the candidate lists that make up the list pact.
17.-(1) When determining which candidates on a list have been elected, a distinction is made between list votes and personal votes. If the voter has ticked off the name of a candidate or has ticked off both the name of a candidate and the list to which this candidate belongs, the vote is considered personal.
18.-(1) For candidate lists with equal ranking, the decision as to who has been elected is based on personal votes only.
(2) If two or more candidates have achieved the same number of votes and they cannot all be elected, the order in which the candidates have been elected is determined by a draw carried out by the chairman of the election committee at a public election committee meeting.
(3) After determining the priority of the candidates, the number of candidates to which the list is entitled are considered elected. Non-elected candidates are appointed as substitutes according to the same procedure. If all candidates from the list have been elected, substitutes are appointed from any list pacts or, if necessary, electoral pacts. If no list pacts or electoral pacts have been formed, or if all candidates from the list pacts and electoral pacts have been elected, the list has no substitutes.
19. For prioritised candidate lists, the candidates elected are determined in the following way:
(2) The number of personal votes within each list is added to the number of list votes. The resulting total is then divided by the number of mandates allocated to the list plus one. The number thus achieved is rounded up to the nearest whole number, which is called the distribution number for the list in question.
(3) A sufficient number of list votes to achieve the distribution number is then added to the number of personal votes achieved by the first candidate listed. The remaining list votes are then added to the number of personal votes achieved by the second candidate on the list until the distribution number is reached. This continues for all the remaining candidates in the order in which they appear on the list. Once all list votes have been assigned to the list candidates in this manner, the candidates who have reached the distribution number or have received a sufficient number of personal votes to achieve a number that is equal to or larger than the distribution number are declared elected in the order in which they appear on the list.
(4) If this procedure does not lead to the appointment of the required number of members, the remaining number of candidates required are declared elected based on the number of votes achieved (personal votes plus list votes). If two candidates achieve the same number of votes and only one can be elected, the candidate with the highest ranking on the list is declared elected.
(5) The candidates on a candidate list who have not been elected are considered substitutes for the candidates elected on the same list in the order described above. If all the candidates on the list have been elected, substitutes are appointed from any list pacts or, if necessary, electoral pacts. If no list pacts or electoral pacts have been formed, or if all candidates from the list pacts and electoral pacts have been elected, the list has no substitutes.
20.-(1) If there is a need to elect more candidates from a candidate list than the number actually listed, the excess mandate(s) will be transferred to the candidate list with which the empty list has entered into a list pact. If the empty list is part of a list pact with several candidate lists, the mandate accrues to the list first in line to the mandate in accordance with the above-mentioned distribution procedure.
(2) If the empty candidate list has not entered into a list pact with other lists, the mandate will be transferred to the candidate list(s) or list pact(s) with which the candidate list in question has formed an electoral pact in accordance with similar rules.
(3) If a list pact has been given more mandates than the number on the candidate lists that form part of the list pact, the excess mandate(s) will be transferred to the list pacts or candidate lists with which the empty list pact has formed an electoral pact in accordance with similar rules.
(4) If all candidates on a candidate list, a list pact or an electoral pact have been elected in accordance with the above rules, the mandate will be transferred to the remaining candidate list, list pact or electoral pact next in line in accordance with the above-mentioned rules.
21.-(1) If it is noted upon determination of the outcome of the election that an insufficient number of staff from election groups I and III were elected in a particular election area, the election committee organises a draw between the non-elected eligible members of the group in the election area immediately after the election and before the results are announced, to determine who should join the collegial body in question and who should be substitutes. The election committee determines the number of substitutes.
(2) Similar rules applies if no candidates are nominated for election in the area in question.
(3) If no students have been nominated for election, the rules set out in Article 23(2) apply.
22.-(1) Complaints about an election must be submitted in writing to the rector before a given deadline, cf. Article 1(2) above.
23. If a member no longer meets the requirements for eligibility within his/her election group, the member must resign from the bodies in which the member participates. In case of leave, the rector can decide that the member is temporarily absent during the leave period only.
(2) If a vacancy occurs in a collegial body during the election period and the ordinary election has not led to the election or appointment of a sufficient number of substitutes to complete the collegial body, the rector decides, normally on the recommendation of the collegial body in question, whether the vacant seat(s) should be filled in a by-election or whether an appointment can be postponed until the next ordinary election, cf. section 9(6) of the university’s By-laws regarding Board members.
(3) In by-elections, the election area is the same as for ordinary elections and the provisions of the election circular apply correspondingly.
(4) Instead of holding a by-election, the rector can, as concerns election groups I, II and III, appoint a member for the remaining election period on the recommendation of the relevant election group in the body in question, cf. section 17(6) of the university's By-laws regarding Board members.
(5) If there are changes to the university's organisational structure during an election period, mandates to closed bodies lapse and the necessary new elections are held for the remainder of the election period.
24.-(1) These rules come into effect on 1 August 2020.