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Dear EDYN members,
We are happy to announce that the next EDYN Ambassador’s elections 2023 will take place in June. In order to enhance accountability and democracy in the governance of your network, you – EDYN members will have the opportunity to vote for your Ambassadors, within your respective Country Chapters.
Let us explain the process, timeline, rules, and procedures. These were developed by your representatives in the Leadership Council and in the Election Committee and are enshrined in both the EDYN Charter 2023 and the EDYN Elections Committee Guidelines.
Timeline of the elections
May 22 – May 31: Nominations for Ambassadors positions
June 1 – June 11: Campaigning period
June 12: Elections open (online voting)
June 18: Elections close and the votes will be counted by the voting website automatically
June 19: the EDYN HQ and the Election Committee will officially announce the results
NUMBER OF AMBASSADORS IN MY COUNTRY CHAPTER
The number of Ambassadors within each Country Chapter is determined by the number of members in that particular Country Chapter. For every 7 members, there is 1 Ambassador. For Country Chapters with more than 49 members, the limit of ambassadors per country is 7 (seven). Please see the table below to see the number of Ambassadors you will vote for in your own Country Chapter. If your country is not included in this table, it means that there are either fewer than 7 members and therefore your Country Chapter will not have an Ambassador yet.
COUNTRY #of Ambassadors
Albania 7
Armenia 2
Belarus 2
BiH 5
Croatia 1
Czech Republic 2
Estonia 1
Georgia 7
Hungary 3
Kosovo 6
N. Macedonia 7
Moldova 7
Montenegro 4
Poland 3
Romania 2
Slovakia 3
Slovenia 1
Serbia 2
Ukraine 7
# of AMBASSADORS – 75
WHO CAN RUN TO BE AN AMBASSADOR
Any member who has been an EDYN member for more than 6 months and hasn’t reached the age of 33 can run to become an Ambassador.
AMBASSADOR CRITERIA
Ambassadors must be between the age of 18 and 32 (inclusive), possess strong written and verbal English language skills, strong leadership skills, good communication, and public speaking skills, and be citizens and current residents of an EDYN membership country listed above. Ambassadors must be active – politically or civically – engaged in their community, shall demonstrate a record of political and/or civic leadership, and support EDYN’s values as defined in the 2019 Berlin Declaration.
HOW DO I RUN TO BECOME AN AMBASSADOR
The call for candidates will open on May 22 and will close on May 31. During this period, you can apply and run for an Ambassador. If you are eligible to run, you shall enclose a Letter of recommendation regarding political/civic leadership and achievements, a CV, and a signed statement of readiness to perform the role of an Ambassador by sending the email to the sitting Ambassadors in his/her respective Country Chapter and to the HQ to [email protected]. In case there are no sitting Ambassadors at the moment of the application, the candidate shall present the documents to the HQ only. An Ambassador candidate shall be ready to devote adequate time to the activities of the Country Chapter.
WHO CAN VOTE FOR THE AMBASSADOR(S)
Any member who has been an EDYN member for more than 6 months and hasn’t reached the age of 33 can vote for their Country Chapter’s Ambassador(s). However, this does not apply to countries that are not eligible to have an Ambassador.
PLEASE NOTE: IF A MEMBER FAILS TO SIGN THE CODE OF CONDUCT WHICH WAS SENT TO HER/HIM BY THE EDYN HQ AND WHEN HE WAS CONTACTED BY HER/HIS AMBASSADORS, THE MEMBER LOSES THE RIGHT TO RUN IN THE ELECTIONS AND ALSO TO VOTE IN THE ELECTIONS. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE SEE THE EDYN CHARTER OR ASK YOUR LEADERSHIP COUNCIL MEMBERS.
VETO PERIOD
NDI/IRI and the HQ can influence the EDYN member and ambassador composition as follows:
– IRI and NDI field offices or the HQ can individually veto a member candidate in the recruitment process
– IRI/NDI/HQ can unanimously veto an Ambassador candidate in the Ambassador Elections
– IRI/NDI/HQ can unanimously demote a sitting Ambassador at any time during his/her mandate. If the Ambassador is an LC member, s/he loses the LC mandate immediately.
The veto right and/or demotion is activated only under specific circumstances when NDI/IRI/NDI are aware of severe violation of EDYN’s principles, values or commitments, criminal activity, or candidate’s affiliation with an extremist movement, party, or other entity. In case of an Ambassador demotion, the decision is communicated in a letter signed by the ED.
ELECTION PERIOD
The elections will open on June 12 and will close on June 18. The voting will take place online and each member who is eligible to vote will receive an email with instructions on how to vote. It is essential your email address is up to date and that your SPAM filter does not filter out automatic emails from edyn.eu. You can vote for the number of Ambassadors that was determined based on your Country Chapter size (or less if fewer candidates apply). You can also vote for yourself. All candidates will be given the list of their Country Chapter members; however, neither personal information nor contacts will be shared from the HQ. Individual Country Chapters can organize events connected to the elections and will be encouraged to help their members to get to know the candidates. The voting choices of all members are confidential and will be seen only by the Elections Committee from other countries and by the EDYN HQ.
COUNTING PERIOD
The vote count will be done automatically by the voting website once the elections close. The official results will be communicated on June 19 by the Elections Committee and EDYN HQ.
Specific circumstances (e.g. ties) and potential disputes will be resolved by the Elections Committee (EC).
The best of luck to all the candidates and thank you to all those who will participate in the elections!
