Old Lawrencian Association, 
Lovedale, 
Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu 640003

SECTION 1- ELECTIONS

1. Members of the Association

All persons who are alumni of Lawrence School, Lovedale are eligible to be members of the Association, and, upon becoming a member, each alumnus shall be entitled to vote at general body meetings. An alumnus of the school becomes a member of the Association upon registration through the OLA office or the OLA website (http://olalovedale.com  or equivalent) under procedures established for such registration from time to time.

2. Associate Members/Patron or Honorary Members

Associate Members/Patron or Honorary Members are not entitled to vote under the bylaws. However, they may take part in debates of issues during a general body meeting.

3. Voting

Each member, in good standing, is entitled to one vote at general body meetings.

4. Quorum

4.1 The presence in person, or by proxy, of five percent (5%) of the total membership shall constitute a quorum. However, 50 members physically present meets quorum. If any meeting cannot be organised because a quorum has not been attained, it shall be automatically adjourned. The meeting will reconvene after 30 minutes and the members present will be accepted as a quorum, however only emergency actions can be taken up at such a meeting. If, at such adjourned meeting where a lower than specified number of members are accepted as the quorum, an emergency action is required, members– present in person or by proxy – shall vote on relevant matters. Members retain the right to appeal these decisions. 

4.2 OLA formal notifications shall go out on all the public media used by the OLA for
news releases and other public announcements. i.e., http://olalovedale.com or equivalent, olalovedale@gmail.com, oldlaws@yahoogroups.com, Oldlaws on Facebook https:// www.facebook.com/groups/Oldlaws/, etc. and any other social media in use at any time.

5. Votes shall be cast in person, by proxy, or electronically.

5.1 A proxy must be a member of the Association.

5.2 The form of the proxy shall be in substantial conformity with Appendix 1.

5.3 No person shall cast more than three proxy votes.

5.4 Proxy votes must be cast in person and after proper verification by the Secretary. Proxy authorizations must be received by the Secretary at least seven days prior to the date of general body meeting.

5.5 Electronic votes or choices (i.e., electronic polling) shall be accepted only from email IDs previously registered at the OLA website as belonging to members in good standing or by using an appropriate electronic tool.

5.6 The members' votes/choices shall be received, using the methods specified, i.e., email or other electronic polling system. The process is detailed in 11.6 of the Bylaws.

5.7 Appointment of the Managing Committee (MC) may be conducted during the General Body Meeting of the Association and is to be specifically mentioned in the notice sent to the membership at least 21 days before the meeting. This is further specified under Rule 15 of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Rules, 1978.

6. Annual Meeting

6.1 The Annual General Body Meeting of the Association (AGM) shall be held at least once every year. In exceptional circumstances, where it is not possible to hold a physical meeting, the Annual General Meeting may be conducted through video conferencing or other electronic means.

6.2 The members may elect the members of a Managing Committee at this meeting and may also transact other business of the Association as may properly come before them.

6.3 The Secretary shall send a formal and public notice to the members, at least 30 days before the meeting, requesting items for the agenda.

6.4 The Secretary shall also send all Resolutions to be voted upon to all members 14 days before the AGM while special resolutions should be sent 21 days in advance.

7. Notice of Meetings

7.1 It shall be the duty of the Secretary to mail or send a notice of each Annual or special meeting, stating the purpose thereof as well as the time and place where it is to be held, to each member at least 21 but not more than 42 days prior to such meeting. The mailing or sending of a notice in the manner provided in these Rules, and meeting Rule 25 of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Rules, 1978, shall be considered notice served.

7.2 Extraordinary General Body Meetings (EGM) may be requisitioned by the MC at any time after proper notice. Such meeting may be requisitioned by minimum fifty members by providing notice to the Secretary by electronic means or at the registered office. In exceptional circumstances, where it is not possible to hold a physical meeting, Extraordinary General Meetings may be conducted through video conferencing or other electronic means.

8. Elections and term of office

8.1 The Managing Committee shall be elected by the General Body, subject to the following conditions.

8.2 The Managing Committee will consist of a President, a Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer as Principal Officers and a minimum of one and up to four other members each for a term of two years.

8.3 The President shall serve for a two-year term on the expiry of which s/he shall not be eligible for re-election.

8.4 On the President vacating office, the Vice President will automatically be appointed as President for the next term. If for any reason, the Vice President is unwilling or unable to serve as President, the General Body will elect the President from among the other Managing Committee members.

8.5 One half of the of the Managing Committee, excluding the Vice President and President, shall retire by rotation at every alternate Annual General Meeting and shall not be eligible for re-election provided that the Secretary and Treasurer shall not retire at the same Annual General Meeting. In determining the number of Managing Committee members to retire by rotation, the number which is nearest to one-half shall retire by rotation.

8.6 The members to retire by rotation at every Annual General Meeting shall be those who have been longest in office since their last appointment but as between persons who became members on the same day those who are to retire shall, subject to the provisions of 8.7 below, be determined by lot.

8.7 A member shall not serve on the Managing Committee for more than four years continuously. After retiring from the Managing Committee, a member may stand for re-election after a period of two years.

8.8 Members should have completed two years in the School, excluding any period spent in classes that were in Prep School at the time, to be eligible for election to the Managing Committee.

8.9 The above constitution of the Managing Committee will take effect from the Annual General Meeting when these modified ByLaws and Rules are passed and come into effect. The time on the Committee will be counted starting from this Annual General Meeting and any time on the Committee prior to this will be ignored.

8.10 In the interests of conducting an efficient AGM, elections may be substantially completed before the AGM, as long as due notice of the election has been provided to the members. The Election Committee (see Item 10) shall conduct the elections following the process as specified therein.

9. Managing Committee

The Principal Officers of the Association shall be the President, the Vice President, the Secretary and the Treasurer.

10. Election Committee

10.1 An Election Committee, nominated by the outgoing Managing Committee, shall act as the Returning Officer for all elections. The Returning Officer shall be provided with the details of membership in FORM No. VI (Rule 16 of the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Rules, 1978). Guidance regarding the selection of the members of the Election Committee, and the functions of this committee, are specified below.

10.2 There shall be a public notification every year, by the Managing Committee (MC), appointing 3 members in good standing as the MC Election Committee at least 90 days before the AGM. The notification (see item 4.2) will include information from items 10.3-10.6. 

10.3 Election Committee (EC) members shall not have served on the MC for at least three years.

10.4 The EC shall review/validate the MC nomination process. The OLA EC may select a fellow-committee member as Chair to represent their interests in monitoring a fair election process and to communicate with the General Body or the outgoing Managing Committee in nominating the Election Committee may nominate one of their number as the Chair.

10.5 The OLA Election Committee (Chair) shall report the outcomes of the MC Election and other Association voting and polling processes to the General Body by the methods used by the Association (Rule 4.2).

10.6 The OLA Election Committee shall be functus officio 180 days after the satisfactory completion of the annual election of the officers of the Association.

10.7 Disputes relating to elections shall be raised before the competent court of civil jurisdiction not later than 45 days from the date of declaration of the election results. The election disputes of registered societies are decided by the courts keeping in view the parent Act. Wherever the parent act, the Tamil Nadu Societies Registration Act, 1975, is silent the courts resort to harmonious construction of other election laws, more particularly the Companies Act, 2013 (No. 18 of 2013) and the Representation of the People Act (1950, 1951).

11. Nomination Form

11.1 Nominations to all posts of the MC shall be made on the form for such purpose, available at the Association’s website, or sent, upon request, to any member requesting the same from the Secretary.

11.2 The Nomination Form shall include the information identified in Appendix 2. In addition, each candidate shall provide an emailed CV including a recent photograph, years spent in the school (in which classes), a brief summary of activities undertaken in his/her life that make the candidate suitable to take on the responsibilities of the MC. Completed nomination forms shall be accepted if received by the Election Committee or Secretary before the date specified by the Election Committee, duly proposed and seconded by the members of the Association.

11.3 Each nominee, proposer, and seconder shall be members in good standing on the date of nomination.

11.4 The Managing Committee may require a Deposit of Rs.500 from all Nominees, at its discretion. The Deposit is an option that may be utilised by the Managing Committee to defray costs associated with managing elections when large numbers of candidates apply for posts.

11.5 The nominees shall not be provided individual email ids or other personal data of the members in order to protect individual’s privacy and data. Candidates can canvas by putting their manifestos/appeals on group fora, the OLA website and other official social media to reach the membership.

12. Attendance at the AGM, Managing Committee Officers & Nominees

The Managing Committee and MC Nominees shall be present at the AGM. Attendance by telepresence/videoconferencing is allowed.

13. Withdrawal of Managing Committee Nominees

Any candidate is free to withdraw her/his nomination. Nominees are requested to consider their circumstances, if changed, and provide due notice, as soon as possible, prior to the date of election.

14. Qualifications of Managing Committee Nominees

14.1 A person shall not be qualified to be chosen as a member of the MC unless

14.1.1 She / he has attained twenty-one years of age; 

14.1.2 She / he is a member in good standing;

14.1.3 She/he completed 2 years in the school other than in Prep School;

14.1.4 In the case of a nominee for the President, she/he should have been a member of the MC for at least a year in the past.

15. Disqualifications

15.1 No member shall be entitled to vote on questions of the election of members of the MC or the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer or any other office-bearer or be entitled to stand for election to such office if s/he is does not meet the guidelines for membership in the Association, on the date of nomination.

15.2 A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being a member of the Managing Committee

15.2.1 if She /he is so disqualified under any law for the time being in force;

15.2.2 She/he is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court;

15.2.3 She/he is an undischarged insolvent;

15.2.4 She/he has been sentenced or convicted by a criminal court for a crime of moral turpitude or the commission of an act or omission involving dishonesty, fraud or breach of fiduciary duty;

15.2.5 She/he holds any office of profit under the Association;

15.2.6 She/he is interested in any subsisting contract made with any work being done for the Association except as a shareholder (other than a member of the board) in an incorporated company or as a member of a co-operative society;

15.2.7 She /he is retained or employed in any professional capacity either personally or in the name of a firm of which s/he is a partner or with which s/he is engaged in a professional capacity, in connection with any cause or proceedings in which the Association is interested or concerned;

15.2.8 She/he was involved in gross negligence, wilful or intentional misconduct or a material violation in relation to the OLA’s MoA, Bylaws or Rules;

15.2.9 She/he fails to pay any arrears of any kind, other than as an agent, receiver, trustee or an executor, to the Association within 60 days after a notice in this behalf has been served upon him.

15.3 Each nominee shall provide to the EC a declaration that she/he is not disqualified to stand for elections under 15.1 or 15.2.

15.4 The Election Committee shall communicate to the General Body the names of those proposed for election to the Managing Committee and ask the members to comment on whether any of the nominees are disqualified under 15.1 or 15.2. 7 days shall be provided for such responses. No adverse response from the members will be deemed to mean the nominees are not disqualified. In the event of a response from any member questioning the eligibility of a candidate, the EC shall, subject to prima facie evidence of a violation under any part of 15.1 or 15.2, refer the issue to the Ethics & Compliance Committee. The election will, meanwhile, be completed ignoring the complaint. The Ethics & Compliance Committee shall provide its findings to the EC within 30 days of the reference to it. Such report will be circulated by the EC to all members using all the regular channels of communication. If the Ethics & Compliance Committee finds the charges against the candidate not proven, the election results will stand confirmed. If the charges are found proven, the candidate’s election will stand null & void. If the position had been contested, the candidate who polled the second most votes shall be declared elected. If the disqualified candidate had been unopposed, the MC may elect one amongst them to fill the position. They need not add an additional member if the number already on the MC is adequate otherwise, they may co-opt an additional MC member or call an EGM for this purpose as specified in the ByLaws.