Council makes referendum proposal to change mandate duration and election dates
February 14, 2011

Meeting on 19 January, the Coordinating Council voted to put to referendum an amendment to its rules that would allow the next Council a two-year mandate and for Council elections to take place in the first half of March instead of the second half of February.

If passed, this would bring the Council in line with the other staff unions of the UN system and allow the Council a more realistic period to constitute itself and fulfill its mandate.

The proposal to move the election dates of the next Council from the second half of February to the first half of March also means that the elections would no longer take place during the school holidays.

The full text put to referendum is as follows:

Do you agree with the UNOG Staff Coordinating Council’s proposal to ammend article 5, paragraph 4 of the Regulations on Representation of the Staff of the United Nations Office at Geneva as follows:

Elections shall be held every two years during the first half of March, in accordance with the procedures set forth in annex I, section III.