17 November 2005

New Green Co-Leader to be elected next June

The Green Party will elect a new Co-Leader at its Annual General Meeting to be held next June.

The Party's Executive has decided there is no need to rush the process of electing a successor to the late Rod Donald, Co-Leader Jeanette Fitzsimons says.

With a single Co-Leader taking the reins for the near future, the Greens have the same degree of leadership as other parties in Parliament. "We want to ensure that the process takes its normal course and the right person for the job is selected," Ms Fitzsimons says.

The Co-Leaders as well as Party Co-Convenors and Policy Co-Convenors are elected by electorate delegates every year at the AGM, held at Queen's Birthday Weekend.

Party Co-Convenor Paul de Spa says that in deciding not to fast track the election process, the Executive has also expressed its full confidence in, and support for, Ms Fitzsimons in her leadership role.

"Rod's sudden death has left us with some very big shoes to fill, but there is a great depth of talent throughout the Party. It will be in everyone's best interests to elect our next male co-leader after thoughtful reflection and debate throughout the Party.

"Our number one priority is to support Jeanette in her leadership role. One of the many advantages of co-leadership is that we do not need to rush the process of electing someone to replace Rod, because we have in Jeanette an experienced leader who has the trust and support of the Party.

"Supporting the other Green MPs is also crucial, and the Executive pledged to support Sue Bradford, Sue Kedgley, Keith Locke, Nandor Tanczos and Metiria Turei, offering them all our love and support as they continue their work amidst the grief and shock of losing Rod."

For more information

Q & A

When are Co-Leaders elected?

The Co-Leaders, Party Co-Convenors and Policy Co-Convenors are all elected each year at the AGM.

Who is eligible to be nominated for the Co-Leadership?

Any party member can be nominated for the positions, provided they are nominated and seconded by members of at least six months standing.

When do nominations close?

Nominations are received six weeks before the AGM.

Who gets to vote for the Co-Leaders?

Each electorate has one or two delegates (depending on size of the membership) to represent them at the AGM. Only these electorate delegates are able to vote for the Co-Leadership.

How are electorate delegates chosen?

Prior to the AGM each electorate must hold a meeting at which they elect a delegate who will vote on their behalf.

How does the vote work?

The voting is done by a preferential system where each candidate is ranked by the delegates in order of preference. The successful candidate must win 50 percent of the votes cast. If no candidate has 50 percent or more of the vote after the first count, then the lowest-polling candidate is excluded and the votes for that candidate are re-allocated to the voters' second preference candidates. This process continues until one candidate reaches 50 percent.

What if delegates don't like any of the candidates?

There is also a no-confidence option, called "Re-open nominations", which can be ticked if the delegate does not wish to support any of the candidates.

What if the no-confidence votes exceed 50 percent?

If this happens the vote stops and the nominations are reopened.

ENDS

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