The
following set of
guidelines
will be used in connection with the conduct of the Elections for
Supreme
Student Government for SY 2014-2015
I.
The
SSG COMELEC AND THE SSG ADVISER
a. The Commission on
Elections, herein referred to as
the SSG COMELEC, shall
be established within forty-five (45) daysbefore the day of election.
b. The
SSG COMELEC shall be the
only agency that will
manage the electoral process, including thecampaign.
c. The
SSG COMELEC shall be compose
of eleven (11) members represented by each year level who do
not have vested interest in the
election, or in any way related to any
of the candidates, and who shall select
a chairperson among themselves.
d. The SSG COMELEC shall have the following
duties and
responsibilities:
e. Conduct fair, honest and systematic
elections;
ii. Formulate an Election Code or modify an
existing Election Code if necessary subject to the approval of the School Head;
iii. Validate the electoral proceedings and
result;
iv. Accept or revoke candidacy;
v. Proclaim the new set of officers;
vi. Keep all pertinent election
papers/documents;
vii. Decide upon protest relative to the conduct
and result of the elections;
viii. Prepare
and distribute the necessary
election paraphernalia,
certificate of candidacy forms and other election
relatedmaterials before, during, and after the election; and,
ix. Disqualify
candidateswho have violated any of
the guidelines, which have
been promulgated.
f. Fromamong the members of the SSG COMELEC,
excluding the SSG COMELEC Chairperson, four (4) SSG Boards of Election Tellers
(BET) will be formed composed of 2 members each. A BET will be in-charge of the
voting precinct exclusive for a year level.
g. Themembers of the SSG COMELEC who are not
assigned as BET members shall comprisethe SSG COMELEC Board of Canvassers
(BOC). The BOC shall be headed by the SSGCOMELEC Chairperson. The BOC will be
responsible for the canvassing of votestallied by the four BET. Likewise, the
BOC will make the proclamation of the elected SSG officers.
h. The SSG COMELEC shall submit a
comprehensive report on the conduct of the elections within 5 days after the
conclusion of the elections.
i. The SSG Adviser must be at all times
present in the SSG COMELEC meetings.
j. The SSG Adviser must provide sound advice
to the SSG COMELEC before passing a judgement or resolution on a case without curtailing
the rights of the SSG COMELEC members individually or as a collegial body.
II.
The
Candidates and Parties
a. Candidates for all SSG elective positions
must:
i. be bona fide students of Manila Science
High School;
ii. be of good academic standing with a general
average of 85 and
above
without any failing grade during the 1st
to 3rd grading period of the
current
school year;
iii. be of good moral character; and,
iv. have not been subjected to any disciplinary
sanction.
b. Candidates
i. Duly accomplished Application Form
available at the SSG COMELEC Secretariat;
iv. Parents permit stating that they are
allowing the candidate to take part in the election processes.
c. All official candidates will be required to
attend an orientation meeting on
February 11-12,
2014 at 1 PM in the Library to be conducted by the SSG COMELEC. In the said
meeting a covenant for peaceful, orderly and honest elections will be signed by
all candidates and members of SSG COMELEC.
d. All official candidates are entitled to a
copy of this 2013 SUPREME STUDENT GOVERNMENT
ELECTION GUIDELINES
e. Candidates
for
president and vice president will be invited to a debate. The debate, which
will be held
on February 14, 2014, will be organized by the editorial staff form The
Chronicle and Ang Kronika .The debate format, composition of panel of interrogators,
and possible questions to be asked in the debate prepared are prepared by the
media
f. If a
candidate decides not to continue with his/her candidacy, he/she may be
substituted
by a qualified candidate nominated by his/her party not later than February 11,
2014.
g. Only two dominant parties will be
recognized by the SSG COMELEC. Their dominancewill be based on the following:
i. Completeness of election ticket;
ii. Ability to wage a school-wide campaign; and
iii. Performance in the previous election.
h. Candidates who do not belong to the
dominant parties will be considered independent
candidates.
The dominant parties are entitled to a maximum of ten (10) poll
watchers,
including the campaign manager. The poll watchers will be allowed to observe
the conduct of the elections and the counting of votes.
i. Only the dominant parties are entitled to
a copy of Election Returns from the BET and Election Results duly authenticated
by the SSG BOC.
III.
The
Campaign
a. The Campaign
period will start on February 14, 2011 and will end on February 19, 2014.
b. Constructive campaigning shall be strictly
observed. Negative campaigning will be referred
by the SSG
COMELEC to the Guidance and Counselling Centerfor appropriate action.
d. Parents, teachers, non-teaching personnel
and members of the alumni are strictly prohibited to campaign for or against
any candidate.
e. The SSG COMELEC shall establish five common
poster boards to be located at the
following
areas:
i. In front of Bordner lobby
ii. In front of the school canteen
iii. In front of the Main building
f. All posters must not be more than 8½ by
11½, reviewed and approved by the SSG COMELEC. Use of tarpaulin as campaign
material and campaign flyers are banned.
g. Use of other campaign materials such as
pins, hats, nameplates, etc is subject to approval by the SSG COMELEC. Use of
sample ballots is strictly prohibited.
IV.
The
Voters
a. For this election, all bona fide students
Vicente P. Trinidad National High School will be allowed to vote.
b. In the succeeding elections, students with
disciplinary or behavioural offense such as absenteeism, tardiness, disrespectfulness,
dishonesty etc. will be banned from participating in the SSG elections.
V.
The
Voting Procedures
A. Voting shall start at 7:00 AM of
February 17,, 2014 and shall end at 3:00 PM of the same day.
b. Votersmay be allowed to vote only during
any of the following time:
i. during free time;
ii. lunch break; or
iii. Social Studies or Values or MAPEH period.
e. Before allowing the first voter to cast his/her
ballot, let the watchers inspect the
ballot box.
Inside box should be free from any object.
VI.
The
Counting Procedures
a. Immediately after the close of the voting,
the four BET will tally the votes in their respective precincts.
b. Before tallying, the members of the BET should
see to it that the poll watchers are present to observe the entire proceedings,
tally board is ready and displayed for public viewing, and counting
paraphernalia are prepared.
c. Once the counting starts, it should not be
halted until the last ballot is counted.
d. The members of the BET will open the ballot
box and count the ballots to determine if the number is equal to the number of
actual number of voters.
e. The ballots will be arranged in piles of
fifty (50) ballots and hold together by rubber band.
f. One of the members of the BET will read
the content of the ballot while the second member records the votes in the
tally board. The watchers and the public must be given an unimpeded view of the
ballot being read and the tally board.
h. The SSG COMELEC should preserve the
physical appearance of all the counted ballots for at least one school year.
They should not be altered, torn, burned, watered or lost.
i. After tallying all the ballots, the BET
will accomplish the Election Return Form which will be the basis in the canvassing
of votes by the BOC.
l. The total votes in words and in numeral
will be recorded for each candidate.
VII.
The
Proclamation of Winners
a. In the presence of all the members of the
SSG COMELEC, the SSG COMELEC Chairperson
will
proclaim the candidates with the highest votes in their respective positions as
the winners and duly elected 2014-2015 SSG Officers.
b. The SSG COMELEC will provide each newly
elected SSG officers a certificate of proclamation.
VIII. The Election
Protest
a. An election may be contested if an alleged
act may have caused the vote to show a result different from the one that would
have resulted.
b. The burden is upon the complainant to prove
the allegation.
c. If
a candidate wishes to contest the election, he/she must do so in writing withintwenty-four
(24) hours after the proclamation of winners. The protest should detail the
reasons for contesting the results. If available, sworn statements
of witnesses
will be required as attachments to the complaint.
d. The
SSG COMELEC,
sitting en banc, must deliberate and decide on the complaint
within
seventy-two (72) hours after the receipt of the complaint.
