MU Academic Senate
Election regulations
In accordance with section 36(2) of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., on Higher Education Institutions and on the Modification and Amendment of Other Acts (the Higher Education Act), the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports registered the Masaryk University Academic Senate Election Regulations on 3 October 2023 under Ref. No. MSMT-23955/2023-2.
Mgr. Karolína Gondková
Director of the Department of Higher Education Institutions
(in the version effective from 1 December 2023)
Section 1
Introductory Provisions
(1) The Masaryk University Academic Senate Election Regulations (hereinafter referred to as the “Regulations”) apply to the Academic Senate of Masaryk University (hereinafter referred to as “AS MU”), which constitutes a self-governing representative academic body of Masaryk University (hereinafter referred to as “MU”) in accordance with Act No. 111/1998 Coll. on Higher Education Institutions and on the Modification and Amendment to Other Acts (the Higher Education Act), as amended (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”), and the Masaryk University Statutes (hereinafter referred to as the "MU Statutes").
(2) In accordance with the Act and MU Statutes, these Regulations apply to the election of AS MU members.
(3) For the purposes of these Regulations, the term “in writing” refers to transmission by e-mail using the Masaryk University Information System (hereinafter referred to as “IS MU”)
a) to the e-mail address asmu.vmk@muni.cz for communication with the AS MU Electoral and Mandate Committee (hereinafter referred to as the “Committee”);
b) to the e-mail address in the format UIN@mail.muni.cz for communication with the AS MU chair (UIN is the university identification number of the AS MU chair).
Section 2
Constituencies
(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, the MU academic community is subdivided into ten constituencies for the academic employees of individual MU faculties, ten constituencies for the students of individual MU faculties and one constituency for the academic employees of university-wide units, which, for the purposes of these Regulations, include university institutes and other MU facilities in accordance with Section 22(1)(c) of the Act.
(2) A member of the MU academic community exercises the right to vote in accordance with these Regulations in one constituency within one and the same election.
(3) A member of the MU academic community, who
a) is simultaneously a student and an academic employee or
b) works as an academic employee at two or more faculties or
c) works as an academic employee at a faculty and a university-wide unit or
d) is a student at two or more faculties,
shall decide on their assignment to a constituency when submitting the candidacy (Section 9 hereof) or in the IS MU E-volby application (hereinafter referred to as the “Application”) during voting.
Section 3
Election System
(1) The academic employee constituency of each faculty elects three AS MU members and two substitutes from among its members.
(2) The student constituency of each faculty elects two AS MU members and two substitutes from among its members.
(3) Two student constituencies determined in accordance with the procedure set out in Section 5 elect three AS MU members and two substitutes from among their members.
(4) The academic employee constituency of university-wide units elects three AS MU members and two substitutes from among its members.
(5) The constituencies under subsection 3 are determined by the Committee by lot. The constituencies determined by the immediately preceding lot are not included in the lot.
Section 4
Electoral Cycle
(1) The AS MU electoral cycle lasts 36 calendar months.
(2) The AS MU electoral cycle starts on the day immediately following the end of the previous electoral cycle of the AS MU.
(3) In case the term of office of all members of the AS MU ends by the procedure under Section 8(3) of the Act, the AS MU electoral cycle shall end as of the last day of election announced by the Rector.
(4) The term of office of AS MU members is identical to the electoral cycle; the termination of the term of office under subsection 3 shall not be affected thereby.
(5) Members elected in a by-election and repeat election are considered AS MU members until the end of the AS MU electoral cycle.
Section 5
Electoral Organization
Voting, including submitting candidacies and secret ballot, is carried out electronically through the Application. The Application is administered by the Committee.
Secton 6
Election Announcement
(1) The election is announced and its schedule determined by the AS MU chair at least three months before the end of the AS MU electoral cycle. If the chair fails to do so, the election is announced and the schedule determined by the Rector. The announcer then promptly informs the chair of the Committee, who immediately publishes the announcement and schedule in the Application and informs the academic community members by e-mail.
(2) The election announcement includes the designation of two constituencies in accordance with Section 3(3).
(3) The schedule includes:
a) the starting date for submitting candidacies,
b) the closing date for submitting candidacies so that it ends at least two weeks after the starting date for submitting candidacies,
c) the date of publishing the candidates’ names in the individual constituencies within two working days after the end of submitting the candidacies and at least one week before the voting,
d) the dates of voting so that the voting lasts at least one week.
Section 7
Committee
(1) The election is managed by the Committee.
(2) The chair and at least four other members of the Committee are appointed and dismissed by the AS MU from among the members of the MU academic community.
(3) In case the number of the Committee members drops to fewer than five, the Committee must be completed without delay through the procedure under subsection 2. In case the AS MU is unable to decide on the completion of the Committee, such decision shall be made by the chair of the AS MU or, before the AS MU chair is elected, by the person who was the AS MU chair during the previous electoral cycle.
(4) At the instigation of a member of the relevant constituency, the necessary inspection shall be carried out by the Committee without delay.
Section 8
Electoral Lists
(1) An electoral list is a list of members of a relevant constituency generated from the Application by the Committee.
(2) A member of the MU academic community is entitled to make a query or an objection in writing concerning an electoral list. The Committee shall deal with the query or objection without undue delay.
Section 9
Candidates
(1) A member of a relevant constituency is entitled to submit candidacy no later than by the date mentioned in Section 6(3)(b).
(2) A member of a relevant constituency who is a Committee member and fails to resign from the Committee by the date mentioned in Section 6(3)(a) is not entitled to submit candidacy.
(3) Candidacy is submitted through the Application and shall contain the specification of the constituency; it may also contain the election agenda.
Section 10
Information on Candidates and Time of Election
(1) Before candidacies are made public, the Committee members must maintain confidentiality of their contents.
(2) Candidacies are published in the Application in the random order.
(3) The Committee informs voters about the voting in progress by e-mail with a link to the Application.
Section 11
Election Campaigns
(1) Pre-election meetings with all candidates or campaigns in support of individual candidates may take place at faculties and university-wide units.
(2) In this context, faculties and university-wide units strive to ensure equal conditions for the conduct of the election campaign.
(3) Without undue delay after the candidacies are published in the Application, the Committee shall establish an IS MU discussion forum with candidates for each constituency.
Section 12
Voting Procedure
(1) Voting is carried out through the Application.
(2) A voter may use the Application to cast a vote for the number of candidates equal to the number of AS MU members elected in the relevant constituency.
(3) No mandatory minimum voter turnout is set for any constituency.
(4) No preliminary election results are announced.
Section 13
Determination of Election Results
(1) Using the Application, the Committee determines the election results in the relevant constituency no later than on the first working day after the last day of election.
(2) Candidates with the highest numbers of votes in the relevant constituency are deemed elected as members of the AS MU.
(3) Two non-elected candidates with the highest numbers of votes become substitutes.
(4) In case an equal number of votes is obtained by candidates for AS MU members or substitutes, the Committee shall determine their order by lot.
(5) The voting results are available in the Application after the end of voting.
(6) The Committee announces the election results after the vain lapse of the period for filing complaints or after their settlement and publishes the results on the AS MU website.
Section 14
Complaints
(1) A voter may file a complaint with the Committee, reporting a violation of law, MU internal regulations or election policies during the preparation of the election, the election campaign or the organization of election, or challenging the election results. The complaint must be filed no later than five days after the end of the voting.
(2) A submission under subsection 1 is not subject to MU regulations on the protection of rights.
(3) The complaint must be submitted in writing at the address of the Committee and must include a statement of reasons.
(4) The Committee shall consider the complaint and shall decide within five business days after the end of the period for filing complaints mentioned in subsection 1. The complainant and the person who announced the election shall be invited to the hearing of the complaint if any. A decision on the complaint shall be then attached to the election minutes.
(5) An appeal against the decision on the complaint is not admissible.
Section 15
Repeat Election
(1) An election or its part is repeated in case a serious violation of election policies and rules may have affected the election results.
(2) The repeating of the election or its part is decided by the Committee.
(3) A repeat election is regulated by provisions applicable to elections, as appropriate.
Section 16
By-election
(1) A by-election is held in case no substitute is available for a vacant AS MU position or in case all substitutes declined to fill such a position or in case the regular election did not successfully fill all positions in the AS MU.
(2) In case a position in the AS MU is vacated in the last six months of an electoral cycle, the faculty Academic Senate may decide that a by-election will not be held in the relevant constituency.
(3) A by-election is regulated by provisions applicable to elections, as appropriate.
Section 17
Membership Termination
(1) Membership in the AS MU shall be terminated:
a) as of the day of termination of membership in the academic community of the relevant constituency,
b) as of the day of entry into office incompatible with AS MU membership,
c) as of the day of election as an AS MU member or substitute in a by-election in another constituency,
d) as of the day of resignation from the AS MU.
(2) AS MU members announce the termination of membership for reasons listed in
subsection 1 to the AS MU chair’s address in writing.
Section 18
Maintaining Membership by Admission to Follow-up Studies
(1) AS MU membership of a student who, during their term of office, successfully completes the studies in a degree programme implemented by a faculty linked to the constituency they were elected to represent in the AS MU and they are admitted to a follow-up degree programme implemented by the same faculty, is interrupted subject to the condition under subsection 2.
(2) AS MU membership of a student under subsection 1, who notifies the AS MU chair within seven days of successfully completing their studies that they intend to enrol in studies at the same faculty which they were elected to represent in the AS MU, shall be restored on the day following the day of enrolment. The duration of the period between the completion of studies and subsequent enrolment in studies must not exceed four months, otherwise the AS MU mandate expires; the mandate also expires after the vain lapse of the deadline for enrolment.
(3) No substitute is summoned for the period of interruption of membership in the AS MU under subsection 1.
Section 19
Summoning a Substitute
(1) A substitute is summoned by the Committee without undue delay. A substitute whose office is interrupted in accordance with subsection 4 is summoned by the Committee without undue delay after the end of such interruption.
(2) A substitute may decline the summons by written statement sent to the address of the Committee; their status of a substitute in the relevant electoral cycle shall be thereby terminated without the possibility of renewal.
(3) A substitute shall be a member of the AS MU for no longer than the remainder of the relevant term of office.
(4) The provisions of Section 17 shall apply to the termination of the substitute status as appropriate. The provisions of Section 18(1) and (2) shall apply to the interruption of the substitute status as appropriate; the requirement of notification under Section 18(2) shall not apply for a substitute.
Section 20
Documentation of Elections and AS MU Membership
(1) Election documentation is archived by the AS MU.
(2) The list of AS members is maintained by the AS MU chair.
(3) The AS MU chair presents the AS MU member with a certificate of election during the first AS MU session at which the member is present in person.
Section 21
Transitional Provision for the First Election to the AS MU on Behalf of Faculty of Pharmacy MU
The term of office of senators elected to the AS MU on behalf of the Faculty of Pharmacy MU in the first election shall commence on 1 January 2021 and shall last until the end of the following electoral cycle, however, at the latest until 31 December 2023.
Section 22
Final Provisions
(1) The Masaryk University Academic Senate Election Regulations registered with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports on 14 June 2019 under Ref. No. MSMT-20769/2019 are hereby repealed.
(2) These Regulations were approved in accordance with Section 9(1)(b)(3) of the Act by the Academic Senate of Masaryk University on 18 September 2023.
(3) In accordance with Section 36(4) of the Act, these Regulations shall enter into force on the day of registration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports.
(4) These Regulations shall enter into effect as of 1 December 2023.
Prof. MUDr. Martin Bareš, Ph.D.
Rector