Fraternity-Testvériség, 1969 (47. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1969-06-01 / 6. szám
ings. The special meetings are called pursuant to the appropriate provisions of these by-laws. 9. The presiding officer shall be the President of the body in meeting. The President shall vote only in the case of a tie. It is the duty of the President to order a secret ballot if ten percent of the members present request it. A member may speak only once on a question. The President may grant him the right to speak a second time only if he has been personally challenged. The maker of the motion shall have the right of the closing remarks in the discussion. 10. Conventions, meeting of the Board of Directors or branch meetings have the right to make decisions only if the following quorum of the respective meetings are present: a) one-half of the authorized delegates to the Convention; b) two-thirds of the members of the Board of Directors; c) one-twentieth of the membership of any branch—at least five members in branches with less than one hundred adult members. If a quorum is not present at the first meeting, a second meeting shall be called at which those present, regardless of number shall constitute a quorum. THE CONVENTION Aim — Time — Place — Membership 11. The Federation shall hold a Convention every four years at a time and place designated by the Board of Directors. It shall receive a report of the preceding four years, to decide upon actions for the future and to encourage and foster unity and fraternity. In order to postpone a Convention the consent of two-thirds of the branches is required. 12. The members of the Board of Directors and the delegates of the branches constitute the Convention. Each member of the Convention is entitled to one vote. 13. The Board of Directors shall determine and designate the number of guests and other persons to attend the Convention. Election of Delegates 14. Each branch having a minimum adult membership of 300 shall send one delegate to the Convention. Branches having more than 300 members shall send one additional delegate for each multiple of 300 members. Branches having less than 300 members will be grouped in units of not less than 350 and not more than 400 members, and may jointly send one delegate. The grouping of these units will be arranged by the Secretary of the Federation according to geographical location, in concurrence with the Executive Committee and with the approval of the Board of Directors. The candidate of such group of branches receiving the majority vote of those present shall be the delegate. For every delegate elected, an alternate shall be elected at the same meeting, who will attend the Convention in the event the regular delegate is unable to attend. The delegates and alternates shall be elected within 60 days following the announcement of the meeting date of the Convention by the Board of Directors, and their names shall be certified to the Secretary of the Federation within 7 days after election. Each certification shall be accompanied by a copy of the minutes of said meeting and a list of the members present at the meeting. A delegate, an alternate must have been in the membership of the Federation and of the branch, or one of the branches of the group he is representing, for at least one year prior to his election, and must have fulfilled all his membership obligations. Branches formed within one year preceding the Convention shall be exceptions. Officers of similar organizations or employees of the Federation receiving a monthly salary cannot be delegates. Election Irregularities 15. In the event any irregularity is discovered by and submitted to the Executive Committee, it shall be the duty of the Secretary to investigate such alleged irregularities. If he finds an irregularity, he shall notify the branches to take corrective action. If such corrective action shall not have taken place within 30 days, the Secretary shall report the irregularity to the Board of Directors with the recommendation of the Executive Committee. The Board of Directors shall either approve or reject the recommendation and shall, through the Secretary, notify the branch of its decision. Representatives or alternates of the branches shall have the right to appeal such decision to the Convention whose decision shall be final. Convention Chairman — Convention Secretaries Expenses — Reports 16. Sessions of the Convention shall be conducted by the President or Vice President of the Federation, except during the election of officers, for which the Convention shall elect a chairman from the ranks of the delegates. 17. The Convention Secretaries, as designated by the Convention, shall read the minutes of the previous day’s proceedings at the beginning of each morning session, and these minutes shall be approved by the Convention and attested as correct by a II.
