GBC electorial process-Phase I Re-election

Urgent Attention: All devotees!

 

GBC Electorial Process- Phase I Re-election

 

Electing Temple Presidents Body to be the ballot for GBC election

We have been working to make the preliminary round of GBC election process free & fair. Towards this end we had taken into account most considerations. However, due to human error, one aspect was overlooked. Hence we are readdressing this election process.

 

In the interest of avoiding proxy votes every voter’s name & signature was expected to be filled in the ballot paper. It appears that this procedure caused some difficulty in the minds of certain voters and they felt inconvenienced in exercising their choices freely.

 

This concern was placed before the ad-hoc committee by the election commission with its proposal for considering a total re-election based on a secret ballot. In the interest of making the election free & fair, the ad-hoc committee has endorsed the proposal for total re-election.

 

Accordingly the date for re-election for Bangalore is been fixed for 3rd Nov 2008 (Today) at 4.30pm & 9pm in the MVT. The election commissioners will announce the date & time for re-election in other centers. You are requested to cast your votes on either of these schedules and support the election process once again.

The process will be as follows:

 

The following new election machinery was instituted:

 

1) Two election commissioners:

1. Subhanga Chaitanya Dasa

2. Janardhana Dasa

 

2) Observers:

1. Mario Nimnicht (USA)

2. Joshua Hawley (USA)

3. William Bertosa (USA)

4. Nimai Pandit Dasa (USA)

5. Harisha, CA

 

Devotees can come to MVT and register their names by signing into a register. They will be a given a ballot paper with the candidate list mentioned. The devotee can walk into the MVT & freely and privately select his choices and drop the ballot paper into a ballot box. They have to tick their final choices with a PEN. After casting the vote freely, the devotee must leave the MVT. We request devotees to study the instructions mentioned on the ballot paper very carefully before casting their vote inorder to avoid disqualification of their votes. Disqualified votes will not be counted.

 

Voting in other centers:

 

We are appointing local election officers in other centers who will conduct the elections based on the same secret ballot system.

 

The election commissioner will send the ballot papers by courier to the election officers of other centers who must receive these personally. These ballot papers will contain the signature of one of the election commissioners. This ensures that there are no proxy votes. These ballot papers will be given to the voters by the election officer in his local center. Once the devotees vote based on the secret ballot, they will be collected by election officer and sent back to the election commissioners in BLR by courier. This courier will be directly received by the election commissioner in Bangalore.

 

If there is only one voter in a center, he will be asked to come to Bangalore, Vrindavan or Puri based on the convenience to cast his vote on the basis of secret ballot.

 

Once all the votes reach Bangalore, then counting will begin. Till the counting begins, all the ballot boxes will be kept under tight security overseen by the election commissioners. The counting process involves using a small s/w. Few professional data entry operators will enter the data from ballot papers into this s/w to generate the final list of 20 candidates who will elect final GBC.

 

The result will be declared by the election commissioners to the entire community.

 

Then these 20 candidates will assemble in board room, Bangalore and vote their choices on the basis of secret ballot in order to elect the final 9 GBCs. Once again the election commissioners will count the votes and declare the 9 GBCs to the entire community. There will be a uniform standard for the entire voting process.

 

This entire process will be monitored by the 5 observers mentioned above to ensure free & fair election.

 

We regret the inconvenience and solicit your cooperation. Hare Krishna!