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Election Regulations

Board of the University of the Arts Helsinki, 11 May 2023.

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Chapter 1 – General provisions and definitions

Section 1 – General provisions

In addition to the provisions that are laid down in the Universities Act (558/2009) and the University Regulations of the University of the Arts Helsinki, these Election Regulations are observed in the election of

  1. members who represent the university community in the university board of the University of the Arts Helsinki,
  2. the university collegium of the University of the Arts Helsinki and
  3. academy boards of the University of the Arts Helsinki.

Elections are direct and proportional, and votes are counted using the d’Hondt method.

Provisions on forming electoral alliances and the position of electoral alliances in proportional elections are laid down in sections 10 and 13 of the Election Regulations.

Elections are organised using the open-list voting system.

Elections are secret.

The election of student representatives in university bodies is organised by the Student Union.

Section 2 – Definitions

In the University of the Arts Helsinki elections that comply with these Election Regulations, the following concepts have the following definitions:

Secrecy of the vote: The voter’s right to cast their vote without anyone getting to know for whom they have cast their vote. The aim with the secrecy of the vote is to ensure that voters can cast their vote freely and according to their own will without being affected by social pressure.

Group: A group in the university community in which the person has the right to vote and is eligible for election in accordance with sections 3 and 4.

Direct elections: Voters cast their vote directly for the candidate they have personally selected.

Electoral alliance: An alliance formed by two or several candidates for the election.

Open-list system: A voter can vote for a candidate that either is or is not in an electoral alliance. The internal order in which the candidates are elected within an electoral alliance is determined based on the number of votes cast for each candidate on the list.

Proportional representation: The representatives are elected by using an electoral system where the number of seats per electoral alliance is proportional to the total number of votes for the candidate list.

D’Hondt method: Used in a proportional list system, the D’Hondt method means that the seats that a group is entitled to are allocated based on the number of votes for each list. First, the total number of votes for each electoral alliance is counted. After this, the candidates in each electoral alliance are ranked in order based on the number of votes they have personally received. Each candidate is given a comparative index, meaning that the comparative index for the candidate with the most votes is the total number of votes cast for the candidate’s electoral alliance, while the comparative index for the candidate with the second most votes is half of the number of votes for the candidate’s electoral alliance, and the comparative index for the candidate with the third most votes is one third of the number of votes, and so forth. Finally, the candidates are ranked in order according to their comparative indexes, and the number of elected candidates is the number of available seats.

Chapter 2 – Right to vote and eligibility for election

Section 3 – Right to vote

With the exception of trainees, all those who have an employment relationship at the University of the Arts Helsinki have the right to vote, as long as the following conditions are met: The person’s working time percentage is 30% at minimum and their employment relationship is valid on the 1st of September (if the election is held in the autumn term) in the year of election as well as on the election day or on the 1st of January (if the election is held in the spring term) in the year of election as well as on the election day.

A person has the right to vote either in group 1: University professors, which requires that the employment relationship is valid until further notice or at least for a two-year fixed period; or in group 2: Other teaching and research staff as well as other personnel.

A person can have the right to vote in the academy board elections of only one academy.

A person with the right to vote belongs to the academy or unit and group where the person carries out their work duties on the 1st of September or the 1st of January in the year of election.

If the situation is unclear, the electoral commission determines in which academy and group the person has the right to vote and be eligible for election.

Section 4 – Eligibility for election

Eligibility for election refers to the right to stand as a candidate in an election within their personal group. Eligibility for election requires that the person is entitled to vote in the election in accordance with section 3.

All those who have the right to vote in a specific election also have the right to stand as a candidate in their own group and, as regards academy board elections, at their home academy, with the following exceptions:

  1. In the election of members representing the university community in the university board of the University of the Arts Helsinki, the university’s rector, vice rectors, deans and vice deans, directors who are appointed by the university board and who work directly under the rector as well as the university collegium members and their deputies are not eligible for election.
  2. In university collegium elections, the university’s rector, vice rectors, deans and vice deans, directors who are appointed by the university board and who work directly under the rector as well as the members of the university board are not eligible for election.
  3. In academy board elections, the dean and vice deans are not eligible for election.

Chapter 3 – Electoral commission

Section 5 – Electoral commission

The university has an electoral commission appointed by the rector (University Regulations, section 22).

The term of the electoral commission extends until further notice, and its composition is reviewed and changed when deemed necessary.

The rector appoints a chair and a secretary for the electoral commission. The electoral commission selects a vice chair from among its members.

In addition to the chair, a legal adviser, a communications representative and 2–4 other members of the university’s personnel are also appointed as members of the electoral commission.

The remit of the electoral commission is to

  1. manage and supervise the implementation of tasks related to the conducting of elections;
  2. publish an election notification concerning the elections;
  3. publish preliminary electoral registers and process rectification requests regarding preliminary electoral registers before the final electoral registers are confirmed;
  4. confirm the final electoral registers and make them available to the community in accordance with the university’s practices;
  5. publish a joint list of the candidates and electoral alliances and issue instructions concerning campaign advertising;
  6. publish the election results;
  7. discuss and solve questions concerning election arrangements;
  8. solve any interpretation problems related to how these Election Regulations are applied and to provide instructions on how to apply them, if necessary;
  9. inform the community and bodies concerning matters relating to election arrangements and election results.

The electoral commission convenes at the invitation of its chair or vice chair. The electoral commission makes a decision on how early in advance the meeting must be summoned.

The electoral commission is quorate when at least two members are present in addition to the chair or vice chair.

Minutes are taken of the meetings of the electoral commission.

Chapter 4 – Measures for organising elections

Section 6 – Election notification

The electoral commission publishes an election notification at least seven days prior to the publication of the preliminary electoral registers. The election notification is published on the university’s internal website in accordance with the university’s practices.

The election notification must state

  1. the number of members to be elected per unit;
  2. information on the publication of preliminary electoral registers and rectification requests concerning the electoral registers;
  3. information on registration of candidacy;
  4. information on the election procedure;
  5. method of voting;
  6. information on the publication of election results; and
  7. other essential information concerning the election arrangements.

Section 7 – Electoral register

A person’s right to vote and eligibility for election are determined in an electoral register.

The electoral register states whether a person has the right to participate in the university collegium, university board and academy board elections and whether they have the right to vote and stand as a candidate in their group.

The electoral commission publishes a preliminary electoral register at least five weeks prior to the election date. The preliminary electoral register is made available to the community for the duration of five working days.

Section 8 – Rectification of the preliminary electoral register and confirmation of the electoral register

A person who deems that there is an error that affects their electoral rights in the preliminary electoral register can present a written request for rectification to the electoral commission during the period when the electoral register is available to the community.

The request for rectification is submitted to the Registry.

The electoral commission must make a decision on the request for rectification within five working days after the end of the period when the preliminary electoral register is available to the community. After this, the electoral commission confirms and publishes the final electoral register.

The electoral commission may process obvious errors that it detects in a preliminary electoral register on its own initiative.

Section 9 – Candidate registration

Those who are eligible for election have the right to register their candidacy within ten working days after the confirmation of the final electoral register. Standing as a candidate requires the support of at least one person who has the right to vote and who represents the same group as the candidate.

Candidacy is declared by submitting a candidate registration to the secretary of the electoral commission. The secretary of the electoral commission makes sure that the candidate registration has been carried out appropriately and verifies that the candidate is eligible for election.

Section 10 – Electoral alliances

Two or more candidates have the right to form an electoral alliance in their own group within the period defined in section 9, subsection 1. A person can stand as a candidate only in one electoral alliance.

Each electoral alliance must have a contact person. The contact person is in charge of the communication aimed at the electoral alliance on behalf of the alliance.

Electoral alliances are reported to the electoral commission in accordance with the instructions provided by the electoral commission.

Section 11 – Examination of candidate and electoral alliance registrations and compilation of candidate lists

The electoral commission reviews the candidate and electoral alliance registrations. The electoral commission may determine a deadline for providing additional information for registrations.

The electoral commission compiles the candidate lists after the possible deadline for providing additional information for electoral alliance and candidate registrations.

If there are more candidates than members to be elected, the electoral commission compiles a list of candidates stating the electoral alliances. The commission allocates each candidate a candidate number. Candidate numbers are allocated by lot. The allocation of numbers begins from number 2.

If the number of candidates is the same as the number of members to be elected in the election, there is no voting and all the candidates are deemed elected. The electoral commission declares the results.

If there are fewer candidates than members to be elected in the election, the candidate registration period is extended.

Chapter 5 – Election procedure

Section 12 – Voting

Only an individual who has the right to vote in accordance with section 3 can vote in elections. Those with the right to vote can vote for one candidate within their own group in elections.

Elections are organised using an electronic voting system, unless otherwise decided, for justified reasons, by the rector on the proposal of the electoral commission. If it is deemed necessary to carry out the voting by ballot, the electoral commission will provide separate instructions for such procedures.

The electronic voting system used by the university meets the relevant data protection requirements. The system protects the identity and voting secrecy of the voter with the right to vote.

A vote is cast with an electronic ballot into an electronic ballot box, which is a file consisting of the votes that have been cast in the election. The votes are stored in the electronic ballot box before the results of the election are confirmed.

Immediately before the voting begins, the chair or vice chair of the electoral commission as well as the secretary verify that the electronic ballot box is empty. The electronic ballot box must not be opened and votes that have been cast must not be counted before the voting has ended.

Chapter 6 – Counting of votes and confirmation of election results

Section 13 – Counting of votes

The electronic voting system counts and checks the votes cast and checks how the votes are counted.

Only votes that have been cast in accordance with these Election Regulations and the instructions provided by the electoral commission are taken into account in the election.

Section 14 – Confirmation of university board election results

In order to confirm the election results in the election of members representing the university community in the university board, the candidates are listed in order according to their comparative index within their own groups. As many candidates are elected in the order of their comparative index as is the number of members to be elected from each group, regardless of which electoral alliance they belong to.

Section 15 – Confirmation of university collegium election results

In order to confirm the election results in the university collegium elections, the candidates are listed in order according to their comparative index within their own group. As many candidates are elected in the order of their comparative index and in accordance with the provisions of section 20 in the University Regulations as is the number of members to be elected from each group, regardless of which electoral alliance they belong to.

*“The University of the Arts Helsinki collegium consists of 18 members and their personal deputy members. Six of the members and deputy members represent the university professors, six represent other teaching and research staff as well as other personnel, and six represent students.” (University Regulations, section 20, subsection 2)

“In the university professors’ group, the university collegium comprises between 1 and 3 members from all the academies mentioned in section 11 of the University Regulations.” (University Regulations, section 20, subsection 3)

“In the group of other teaching and research staff as well as other personnel, the university collegium comprises at least one member from all the academies mentioned in section 11 of the University Regulations, and at least one member representing such staff members that are not included in the academies mentioned in section 11 of the University Regulations.” (University Regulations, section 20, subsection 4)

In university collegium elections, as many candidates who ranked the highest after those who were elected are confirmed personal deputy members as is the number of members who were elected from each group, regardless of which electoral alliance they belong to. The personal deputy members must belong to the same academy or unit as the full members who they have been elected to deputise; however, if at least two full members are elected from the same academy or unit, their deputy members can belong to whichever academy or unit.

Section 16 – Confirmation of academy board election results

In order to confirm the election results in the academy board elections, the candidates are listed in order according to the number of votes that they have received within their own group. As many candidates with the highest number of votes are declared elected as is the number of members to be elected from each group. If the academy board is appointed group-specific deputy members, the candidate who received the most votes out of those candidates who were not elected will be declared elected as a group-specific deputy member.

Section 17 – Other provisions concerning the confirmation of election results

If the number of votes cast in the election or the comparative indexes calculated for the candidates are tied, the order of the candidates is decided by lot in an electronic system.

The electoral commission confirms the election results of the university collegium and the academy boards.

The university collegium confirms the results of the election of members who represent the university community in the university board of the University of the Arts Helsinki. (Universities Act, section 22)

Section 18 – Election record

The electoral commission takes a record of the election results provided by the electronic voting system, and the record is signed by the chair or the vice chair and by the secretary. At minimum, the following information is included in the election record:

  1. the election days and the start and end times of the election procedure;
  2. the members of the electoral commission who were present when the result was declared;
  3. the number of people who exercised their right to vote;
  4. the number of votes cast, the number of blank votes and the respective numbers in each group;
  5. the number of votes for candidates;
  6. possible drawing of lots and the election result.

The report, which is produced by the electronic voting system and reviewed by the electoral commission in its meeting, is printed as an appendix to the election record.

Chapter 7 – Other provisions

Section 19 – Change in the position of a member of a body and filling of a vacant position in a body

A member or a deputy member of a body loses their position in the body when they permanently lose their eligibility to be elected as a member of the body in question. A new member or deputy member is then elected in accordance with the provisions in subsection 4.

If a member or deputy member is on leave from employment during the term of the body with a less than 30% working time percentage at the university, a deputy member, if such has been elected, will take the person’s position in the body for the duration of the person’s leave from employment.

If a member or a deputy member of a body transfers from one group to another during the term of the body for a maximum period of one year, the member or the deputy member will not lose their position in the body.

New members and deputy members are appointed as follows:

  • A by-election is organised when an internal member of the university board leaves their position in the board.
  • When a full member leaves their position in the university collegium, the full member’s personal deputy member takes the full member’s position. The electoral commission contacts the university collegium and confirms what the result of the previous election was, after which the university collegium can add a new deputy member to its composition. This is also the procedure when a deputy member no longer serves in the university collegium. When a full member leaves the academy board, a supplementary member is added to the academy board in accordance with the results of the previous election. The electoral commission is contacted to confirm what the election result was. If an academy board has group-specific deputy members, a deputy member takes on the position of a full member. This is also the procedure when a deputy member no longer serves in the academy board.

If it is not possible to add supplementary members to the university collegium or an academy board in accordance with the result of the previous election, a by-election is organised.

Section 20 – Annulment of election results

If the electoral commission observes that there has been an obvious and a fundamental error in the election procedure or the counting of votes, the electoral commission decides on the annulment of election results and the organising of new elections.

Section 21 – Prohibition of appeals

A decision on the election of a body cannot be appealed against. (Universities Act, section 84)

Section 22 – Entry into force

These Election Regulations will enter into force on 1 August 2023 and supersede the previous Election Regulations of the University of the Arts Helsinki.