GISA Spring Election Cycle Begins

Elections

The following five (5) positions are up for election semester;

• GISA President

• Vice-President of Master's Programmes

• Treasurer

• Event Coordinator

• President of the Professional  Development Committee

Position descriptions can be found attached to this email via pdf and via Google Doc, HERE.

Students interested in nominating themselves must do so via a Google Form, which will be shared with all students on April 8, 2024. In this form, interested students will be directed to share a short Google document outlining their candidacy platform. These platforms will be shared with all students in line with the election timeline below. 

Eligibility Requirements

All candidates:

1. Only students enrolled at the Institute for the entire length of a term are permitted to declare candidacy

2. Executive Committee members are required to be physically present in Geneva for at least two-thirds (2/3) of the weeks during which classes are in session of each academic semester.  They are defined as such by the first day of classes and the last day of classes of each semester for that given academic year for the duration of their term.

Vice President for Master's Programmes:

1. The Vice-President of Master's Programmes must be currently enrolled in a master's programme at the Institute, and must be continuing this programme for the academic year following their election.

Campaign Guidelines

1. Candidates for any position are permitted to campaign. Campaigning activities may include but are not limited to:

1. Physical advertising (posters, flyers, etcetera);

2. Online advertising;

3. Events promoting a specific candidate or group of candidates; and 

4. The addressing of students in lectures, provided permission has been granted by the appropriate professor.

2. Campaigning shall not begin until the start of the nomination period as defined in Section 4(1)(a) of the GISA By-Laws. Campaigning may continue through the duration of the election.

3. Campaign expenditures and donations are governed according to the following procedures:

1. No candidate is permitted to use GISA funds, in any allocation form, for campaign events or campaign materials. Candidates will not be reimbursed for any expenditure during the campaign period.

2. Candidates are permitted to spend up to CHF 150 for their campaign.

3. Candidates who spend money on a campaign shall submit an itemised and detailed list of all campaign expenditures both for the enforcement of the 150 CHF limit as well as for the knowledge of voters.

4. Candidates may accept monetary donations for their campaign provided expenditures do not exceed 150 CHF.

5. Material donations must be declared; a value must be established for each material donation. This estimated value counts against the CHF 150 limit for each campaign. All material donations must be reported to the GISA President and Treasurer.

4. Campaigning is governed by the following procedures:

1. Students are limited to printing a total of twenty five (25) sheets of A4 paper for physical advertising (posters, flyers, and similar) materials.

2. They can be displayed or put in the following locations within reason (at the discretion of the Director of Elections (at the discretion of the DoE):

1. Outside of the library

2. Inside the FAB (on tables/chairs)

3. Inside the petal 2 entrance area and wall next to S1

4. Inside the Picciotto Common Room

5. Inside the Grand Morillon Study Rooms

3. They cannot be displayed or put in the following locations (at the discretion of the DoE):

1. S1-S12/A1 and 2—materials can be handed out in these spaces but not left

2. Other Petal 1, 2, and 3 meeting rooms

3. Personal mail boxes

4. Inside the Library

5. Current Executive Committee members are prohibited from publicly supporting or campaigning on behalf of any candidate for any position.

1. With respect to the use of social media, any activity on such platforms by the Executive Committee members during the election period is presumed to be purely in support and promotion of the electoral process and student engagement. However, members of the Executive Committee are not to share, like, or comment on campaign material, with an exemption for journalistic content such as that shared by The Graduate Press and general material produced by the GISA Executive Committee, that includes the name or image of a candidate, using personal or GISA social media accounts.

2. Notwithstanding the presumption addressed in subparagraph (1), an Executive Committee member is deemed to violate this paragraph when that member explicitly endorses a candidate.

3. In the spirit of integrity, where an Executive Committee member has violated this paragraph, that member shall cease to be involved in the further organisation of the elections for the Executive Committee at once.

Election Schedule

Election Rules

The election will be run in accordance with Article IV of GISA Statutes, and Article I of the GISA Bylaws (copied in part above), complete copies of which can be found attached to this email. 

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If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to reach out to me via email at gisa.president@graduateinstitute.ch.