openSUSE:Board election rules
openSUSE Members
openSUSE is a broad community of contributors and users. Contributors can apply to become an openSUSE Member which entails active and passive voting rights for the openSUSE Board.
In the following we refer to these as Active openSUSE Members.
Election rules
The election of the openSUSE Board will be done using the following rules:
Policy
Size:
The openSUSE Board consists of six Board Members: five seats are elected by Active openSUSE Members and a chairperson is separately appointed by SUSE.
Term:
The openSUSE Board term is in general two years but might be shorter in some cases.
Chairperson:
To provide continuity to the organization, the chairperson shall be appointed and replaced at SUSE's discretion.
Elections:
Elections are held annually (in December). There may be ad-hoc elections in between as necessary.
Company affiliation:
To help ensure that the Board represents the diversity of the openSUSE community, no single organization or company can control more than 40 percent of the electable Board seats.
Good faith:
Members of the openSUSE Board shall act on behalf of all openSUSE contributors in the best interest of the openSUSE project. Although Board Members may be affiliated with companies or organizations that have an interest in the success of openSUSE, they will not be considered representatives of the companies or organizations with which they are affiliated.
Procedure
Voting:
Only Active openSUSE Members may vote, each having one ballot that has one vote per seat to be elected.
The eligible candidates who receive the most votes fill the vacant seats. The elected Board seats are assigned in descending order of number of votes. The two year term seats are filled first, and then the one year term seats.
Election Committee:
The election is run by an Election Committee that consists of at least two Active openSUSE Members. The Election Committee is appointed for each election by the Board.
Constitution:
A new Board's term should start on the first of January, the elections should be finished 14 days before. In the case of delays, the new Board will start 7 days after the election results are published. Appointed Board Members or Board Members elected during an ad-hoc election will start 7 days after appointment or election results are published.
Nominations:
The election committee will take self-nominations, nominations by others and can nominate people for election. The election committee will contact the nominees and ask them whether they are willing to stand for election. These nominations are private until accepted by the nominees.
Insufficient Nominations:
In the event that the number of eligible candidates is less than or equal to the number of vacant seats, the voting period will be delayed by two weeks. A public message will be sent out to ask again for candidates.
In the event that the number of eligible candidates is still less than or equal to the number of available seats, voting occurs as normal but each candidate needs to have more than 50 per cent yes votes to be elected.
Tie:
In the event of a tie for the final seat(s) on the Board, the election committee will schedule run-off elections between the tied candidates within one week, with a voting period of one week to resolve the tie.
In the event of a tie during the run-off elections, the newly elected Board - or the previous Board, if fewer than 50 per cent of the seats have been filled - will appoint candidates running in the run-off elections to fill the vacant seats.
Continuity:
It is desired to "roll over" about half of the seats with each regular election.
Before the election, the election committee defines how many vacant seats are "one year term" seats and how many vacant seats are "two year term" seats.
One year term seats will only be defined if there would be fewer than two seats to be filled at the following annual election. In this case the number of one year seats is calculated so that two seats will have to be filled at the following annual election.
Appointment:
The sitting Board is allowed to appoint new Board Members to fill a vacancy caused by one of the following conditions: 1) resignation of a Board Member, 2) the removal of a Board Member, 3) a Board Member being unable to perform their duties, or 4) as part of elections if not enough people are elected.
In the case that some seats do not get filled at an election, the new Board will appoint Board Members as necessary until the next election.
Ad-hoc elections:
Instead of opting to appoint more than one Board Member, the Board may opt to call for new elections for the vacant seats. These Board Members will then be elected for the current election period and the next period – thus until 31st of December of the next year.
Eligibility and Validity
Eligible candidates:
Only Active openSUSE Members may stand for election and be elected to the Board.
Election committee:
None of the Election Committee are eligible for election as an openSUSE Board Member while serving on the Election Committee.
Eligible voters:
Only Active openSUSE Members may vote.
Resignation:
Any person who has resigned from the Board or has been removed from the Board is not eligible for nomination or appointment for or during the next Board election period.
Restanding:
openSUSE Board Members can serve for up to two consecutive election periods. After that they must stand down for at least one election period, but may run again after that break.
Appointed Board Members:
Appointed Board Members are required to stand down and might seek election at the next election.
Company affiliation:
In the event that individuals affiliated with a company or organization hold more than 40 per cent of the electable seats, affiliates from that corporation will be required to resign until at most 40 per cent of electable seats are controlled by that company or organisation.
Individuals affiliated with a company or organization are people who are employees, officers, or members of the board of directors of an organization; or have a significant consulting relationship; or own at least 1 per cent of the equity or debt, or derivatives thereof, of a company.
Affiliation during election:
A candidate is not eligible to be voted onto the Board if their election would mean that a company or organization hold more than 40 per cent of the electable seats. In this case their election and these votes are void.
Other Rules
Removal of Chairperson:
The elected Board Members can appeal to SUSE to have the chairperson replaced.
Resignation:
A Board Member may resign their current position by giving written notice to the chairperson. The Board should appoint a new Board Member or call elections to fill the vacancy.
Removal:
In the event of repeated absence without contact, or other serious misconduct or negligence, a Board Member may be subject to removal. Before any other process occurs, the Board Member in question will be personally contacted by the chairperson to try to resolve the situation. If this contact does not successfully resolve the situation, the Board Member in question may be removed by a vote of 2/3s of the other Board Members. The Board should appoint a new Board Member or call elections to fill the vacancy.
Repeated absence includes missing three consecutive Board meetings without sending regrets, not answering emails on the board mailing list for more than a month, or missing more than 10 meetings.
Forced re-election:
If 20 per cent or more of the Active openSUSE Members require a new Board, an election will be held for the complete elected Board seats.
Amendment:
Changes to the election rules can be made by a vote of the Board where 2/3s or more approve it including the chairperson or by a vote among Active openSUSE Members where 2/3 or more of participants approve it.