CIPR rejigs deadlines for scrapped election process

The elections will now kick off on 20 March after PRWeek revealed last month that the organisation was revamping how it elected its presidents.

Its decision to restart the elections comes after president elect Lionel Zetter had to stand down from his role when it emerged his nomination was accepted despite being submitted after the CIPR’s deadline.

Now, as part of the reforms, any voting member of the trade body will now be able to run for president as long as they are nominated by ten CIPR members.

Nominations will open on 20 March and close on at midnight on 15 April, while the CIPR will have to publish valid nominations within 48 hours of that date.

Voting then opens on 7 May, with the ballot set to close at noon on 21 May. If there are no complaints, a winner will be announced within a week afterwards.

CIPR CEO Jane Wilson said: ‘We’re really clear on the new regulations, we’ve opened up the candidacy now we’re clearly stating the timetable. It’s a good visible step, a new start and a new way of running the election.’

Elections for 2014 president-elect, treasurer and up to seven elected seats on the CIPR council will proceed as usual in autumn 2013.

This article was first published on prweek.com