Approved by the Representative Council of TSMU
By Decree # 23/3 of March 7, 2018
Provision On Elections of Faculty Management Bodies of Tbilisi State Medical University

Article 1. Area of Regulation
The present decree is developed to define the rule of preparing and holding the elections of the university and faculty bodies, the rights of the persons taking part in elections, the establishment of the election administration and authority, and the cases envisaged by the present decree.

Article 2. Definition of Terms

Terms used for this chapter have the following meanings:
a) Elections – the process of selecting the university and faculty management bodies
b) Right to vote – active and passive right to vote
b. a) Active right to vote – the right of the person defined by the present decree to take part in the elections of the management body;
b. b) Passive right to vote – the right of the candidate to be voted for the management body;
c) Election registration – registration of candidates by the election commission with the view of participating in elections;
d) Election subject – the candidate registered based on the present decree;
e) Pre-election campaign – unity of measures conducted with the view of participation and winning in elections of the candidate and the election subject
f) Repeated voting – voting that is repeatedly administered when the results of the vote are considered void
g) End of elections - publishing of the summative protocol of final election results (including
the repeated voting) approved by the election commission
a) Repeated elections – elections which are held in case of declaring elections non-held or failure to elect the candidate
h. a.) second round of elections – elections appointed based on the decree of the election commission in case of non-acceptance of the set number of votes by the candidate in the first round of elections
h. b) extraordinary elections - elections which are held in case of termination of the authority of the head of the service of quality assurance of the department, member of the representative council, member of the Academic Council, rector, head of administration, head of the quality assurance department, head of the faculty before the expiry of the term.
i) Day of elections (voting day) – the day of holding general, repeated and extraordinary elections
k) Election documentation – applications, complaints, letters, documents, protocols, ballot papers, acts of the election administration, control sheets, registration journals, voters’ lists and other incoming and outgoing documentation of the election commission
l) registration journal – the laced book whose laces are sealed and the sheet is signed by the secretary of the election commission. All its pages are numbered.
m) packaging the documents to package the documents or place them in a box so that after sealing it, it is possible to take out or put in anything without damaging the seal
n) university management bodies – the Academic Council of the University, Representative Council, Rector, Head of administration and head of the quality assurance service.
o) faculty management bodies - faculty board, faculty dean, faculty quality assistance service head
p) candidate to be elected in the management body – the person to be elected as defined by the present rule.

Article 3. Elections Terms

1. All terms defined by the present chapter, including from start to finish of elections, refer to the calendar days (including holidays and days off defined by the labor legislation of Georgia)
2. If the terms coincide with the day off, the first coming after is regarded as the last term
Article 4. Election Commission and content
1. The university election commission is established (from now on referred to as the Elections Commission) at the university with the view of holding the elections
2. The number of members of the commission is 5, including one member from the university self-governing body
3. Public representatives can be elected as members of the election commission.
4. University administrative personnel and/or university management body members can not be elected as members of the election commission
5. The member of the election commission is not authorized to take part in the elections of the governing body of the university with active or passive right to vote
6. The election commission is independent in applying its authority
7. Preparation and holding of elections is funded from the budget. The election commission may be allocated monthly remuneration for fulfilling the functions defined by the present decree in accordance with the university budget
8. The election commission drafts the budget for organizing elections of the governing body in accordance with the cost estimate, which is submitted to the university chancellor before the elections within not later than 20 days. In case of any comments, the chancellor returns the submitted budget with respective comments to the election commission. The chancellor approves the budget of the election commission submitted for the second time within the period of not later than 3 days and ensures issuance of the respective means
9. The election commission consists of the commission chairman, commission secretary and commission members
10. Members of the election commission, including the candidate put forward by the student self-government, are approved by the Academic Council based on the rector’s recommendation with the preliminary written consent
11. The election commission has imposed the obligation to hold the elections based on the set rule of elections
12. The election commission's chairman is elected at the commission's first session based on the majority of the commission's votes under the secret ballot. The chairman of the election commission manages the sessions of the commission, signs decisions made by the commission as well as protocols, and carries out other responsibilities
13. Any commission member is elected as the commission's secretary following secret voting with most attendees. The secretary of the commission designs the agenda of the commission, meeting protocols and signs them, registers correspondence included in the election commission as well as the candidates wishing to take part in it, prepares and signs the summative protocols of elections, and carries out other rights and responsibilities granted to them.
Article 5. Rights and Responsibilities of the Election Commission
1. The election commission member must participate in commission activities immediately upon being appointed.
2. Members of the election commission must sign the protocol summarizing the results of voting or elections. In contrast, in case the member of the commission does not agree with the data included in the protocol, s/he is authorized to indicate it along with the signature and attach a different opinion in writing.
3. The election commission member is independent in his/her activities and submits to the present decree. It is prohibited to exercise pressure over the commission member or interfere with his/her activities to influence the decision-making.
Article 6. Term of Authority of the Election Commission
The term of authority of the member of the election commission starts from the first day of getting together and continues until the respective decision by the management body.

Article 7. Terminating the authority of the member of the election commission before the expiry date

1. The issue of terminating the authority of the member of the election commission is solved by the election commission. The member’s authority may be terminated:
a) based on personal application;
b) based on the non-justified reason to fail to fulfill the authority of the election commission member or missing three times in succession the session of the election commission;
2. The dismissal of the Election Commission secretary before the expiry of the term is signed based on the order of the Elections Commission chairman;
3. It is possible to call back the election commission member before holding the election (voting) in not less than 5 days.

Article 8. The Rule of Election Commission Operation

1. The present chapter defines the rules of the election commission operation;
2. In the event of the absence of the election commission chairman, his/her responsibilities are carried out by one of the members appointed by the commission.
3. The commission defines the periodicity of the election commission sessions.
4. The commission chairman chairs the session, whereas, in case of his/her absence, the responsible person is the commission member who is elected based on majority votes of the members
5. The decision of the commission is made if the majority of attendees support it but not less than one-third of the total composition
6. In case the votes are divided equally, the vote of the session chairman is crucial
7. Internal staff matters are discussed and solved at the commission session based on a simple majority of votes of all the members
8. The protocol is drawn up at the session which is signed by the session chairman and the secretary
9. Upon receipt of the application (complaint), the date and time of receipt are indicated in the election commission record book and the certificate given out to the one giving a complaint. The commission discusses the application (complaint) and makes a respective decision.
10. The applicant confirms receipt of the document issued on the commission decision by the signature in the registration journal.

Article 9. Acts of the Election Commission

1. The following are acts of the election commission:
a) Protocol decrees of the election commission, which are enacted immediately upon receipt;
b) Order of the chairman of the election commission
2. The decree of the election commission and the order is an individual administrative act adopted and issued within the scope of its competence. The session chairman and the secretary sign the decree. The decree is considered adopted if the majority of the session attendees support it but not less than a third of the full composition of the commission.
3. Compliance with the acts of the election commission is compulsory for all persons participating in elections.

Article 10. Authority of the Election Commission

1. The election commission is authorized:
a) To hold the elections and control compliance with the present decree;
b) To define by the decree election measures and their terms in case it becomes impossible to comply with certain requirements defined by the present decree; in case of necessity, to submit to the university rector the proposal about appointing new elections and making decisions regarding the implementation of other election measures;
c) To ensure the making of the election commission seal and ballot boxes, election documents, and supplying the election commission;
d) To define the timetable of election measures in accordance with the terms of the present decree;
e) Approves the day of repeated voting;
f) In case of the complaint, make a decision for repeated counting of ballot papers as well as checking the list of voters;
g) Approves the elections consolidating protocol with two-thirds of the total composition by the decree;
h) Grants the status of the observer;
i) Ensures publication and distribution of information material;
j) Discusses applications and complaints related to the elections and makes respective decisions within the scope of one’s competence; carries out casting lots;
k) The election commission is authorized to create sub-commissions in case of necessity;
l) Carries out other responsibilities granted by the present decree.

Article 11. Office of the Election Commission

1. It is possible to establish the office of the election commission (hereinafter referred to
as the “apparatus”) with the view of organizational, legislative, and technical support 2. The Election Commission defines the office's structure, rules, and authority.

Article 12. Electing the Academic Council

1. The Academic Council consists of three academic personnel from each department/faculty and one from each scientific research institute based on representation;
2. Interested academic personnel are authorized to name their candidacy. In case another candidacy is named by academic personnel, it is necessary. The Election Commission defines the office's structure, rules, and authority with the written consent of this person;
3. The application should contain the name and surname of the candidate, faculty, academic position, and a copy of the decision to appoint the academic position. In case of failure to provide the full data, the application loses its authority;
4. The election commission grants numbers to participating candidates based on casting lots at least three (3) days before the elections (11.10.2023; N23/17);
5. Candidates are registered within 10 days after the publication of the application; elections are carried out within a period of not less than 10 days and not later than 30 days from the end of the registration. In case of refusal to participate in the registration, the drawbacks of the documents submitted by the candidate are indicated. The candidate is authorized to improve it within a two-day term (11.10.2023; N23/17).
6. The candidate is authorized to appeal against the refusal of registration within one day. The election commission of the university decides on the complaint within 3 days. The refusal should be documented as part of the election commission's protocol. (11.10.2023; N23/17);
7. The member of the Academic Council is elected for a 6-year term.
8. All members of the academic personnel of departments/faculties scientific personnel of independent scientific-research units are given the right to vote in elections as well as the representatives of the member-students of the faculty board;
9. Professor and associate professor are elected as the Academic Council members from the pool of academic personnel, and chief and senior scientific workers are done so from the pool of scientific personnel;
10. 14 days before the expiry of the authority of the Academic Council, the Academic Council appoints elections of the board. The acting Academic Council is obliged to carry out defined responsibility before being notified about the authority of the newly elected Academic Council;
11. The election to select a member from the academic staff for the remainder of the term of office of the removed member of the academic council is held by the faculty council of the university whose representative was this member in the academic council, and from the scientific staff - the scientific council of the relevant independent scientific-research unit.

Article 13. Election of the Representative Council

1. The Representative Council is elected based on the representatives from the establishment;
2. The composition of the Representative Council is defined by 41 members, including the number of students represented by 14 members (25.12.2018; N23/15);
3. The following number of representatives is elected in the Representative Council:
a) Medical faculty – 14 academic personnel and 6 student representatives ( 25.12.2018; N23/15;)
a. International Faculty of Medicine and Stomatology– 5 academic personnel and two student representatives (25.12.2018; N23/15)
b) Stomatology/dentistry faculty – 2 academic personnel and two student representatives;
c) Pharmacy faculty - 2 academic personnel and two student representatives;
d) Faculty of Public Health - 2 academic personnel and two student representatives;
e) Faculty of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation - 2 academic personnel and two student representatives;
f) I. Kutateladze Institute of Phramacochemistry - 2 representatives of the scientific personnel;
g) Vladimer Bakhutashvili Medical Biotechnology Institute - 2 academic personnel and two student representatives;
4. The head of the university library is also included in the Representative Council.
5. The member of the Representative Council is elected for a 6-year term.
6. The Representative Council appoints elections 14 days before the expiry of the term. The operating representative council is authorized to carry out the defined authority before the
newly elected Representative Council authority is notified.
7. The candidate for membership in the Representative Council who gained the majority of votes in respective elections after the member whose authority has been terminated becomes its member for the remaining term of authority. In case of not having such a member, elections are held to elect the Representative Council for the same term.
8. The following entities appoint elections for electing the member for the remaining term of the member who has been excluded from the Representative Council;
a) from academic personnel – the board of the faculty whose representative served as a member of the board;
b) from scientific personnel – scientific board of the respective independent scientific research institute;
c) from students – Representative Council;

Article 14. The Rule of Registration of Candidates at the Representative Council

1. The students are selected in the Representative Council all students registered at the faculty in the students’ lists of the electorate;
2. Professors and assistant professors of the faculties are registered in the lists of the faculty's academic personnel electorate. The faculties are granted the right to select within the scope of their quota’s representatives of the public;
2.1. The scientific board of these units elects the representatives of independent scientific research units;
3. Registration of the candidates (academic personnel and representatives of the public) to be selected in the Representative Council is made by the election commission;
4. The election commission does the registration of the electorate.
5. Elections are held within the term of not less than 10 days and not later than 30 days after the registration of candidates. In case of refusal to register, the drawbacks observed in the documentation submitted by the candidate are indicated. The candidate is authorized to improve it within two days (11.10.2023; N23/17).
6. The candidate is authorized to appeal against the refusal of the registration in 1 day. The election commission decides about the complaint within three (3) days (11.10.2023; N23/17);

Article 15. The Rule of Presenting the Candidates

1. The academic staff of the relevant faculties have the right to nominate a candidate for election to the representative council.
2. The representation of the candidate to be elected from the scientific staff in the representative council is carried out in the same manner as in the case of the nominations from the academic staff of the specified faculties.
3. At least one day before the elections, the election commission assigns numbers to the candidates participating in the elections by lot. (11.10.2023; N23/17);
4. The candidate's application must include the candidate's name, faculty, academic position, a copy of the decision on appointment to the academic position, and, for the public representative - the recommendation of the academic staff. If any data is not filled in, the application is invalid.

Article 16. Elections of the Rector

1. The university's academic council publishes a statement on the registration of candidates for the position of rector.
2. The TSMU academic council establishes additional qualifications for the rector's candidate.
3. To ensure publicity and accessibility for interested persons, the announcement about the election of the rector will be posted on the university's website and in a visible place in the university at least one month before the registration of candidates.
4. In the application, the date of the start of registration of candidates, the deadline for receiving applications of candidates, and the date of holding the rector's election are indicated.

Article 17. Registration of the Candidate

1. The registration of candidates must take place within five days. The elections cannot be held five days before the end of the candidates' registration. To register a candidate, the academic council requires the submission of an identity card or passport, documents confirming the requirements set by the council, and an action plan. (11.10.2023; N23/17) 2. If a candidate is refused registration, the reason should be provided in writing. 3. The decision to refuse registration must indicate the defect in the candidate's submitted documents. The candidate is given two days to correct the error. 4. The election commission must issue the candidate with a relevant certificate for the rectorship within two days of registration. (11.10.2023; N23/17) 5. A candidate for rectorship may withdraw their candidacy at any time before the day of voting by submitting a written statement to the election commission. The commission must satisfy the request by passing a resolution.

Article 18. Electing the Rector of the University

1. The candidate will publicly present the action plan to the academic council.
2. The university's academic council elected the rector by secret ballot, with the majority of the list members.
3. The rector is appointed for a 6-year term;
4. The election commission ensures the conduct of the voting procedure and the summarization of the results by this regulation. The commission announces the results of the elections publicly on the day of the elections.
5. The election of the rector will be considered as held if more than half of the total number of members of the Academic Council participated in it.
6. If the election was not announced as held, or if it was held, but only one candidate participated in the first round and did not receive the required number of votes, or the rector could not be elected in the second round - re-elections are held.
7. The second round of elections is held if none of the candidates for the rectorship has received more than half of the votes of the members of the Academic Council.
8. The election commission appoints the second round of the elections no later than 2 weeks after the elections.
9. The two candidates with the best results in the first round of the elections have the right to participate in the second round.
10. The second round is considered to be held if at least 1/3 of the total number of Academic Council members participated.
11. The candidate who gets more votes but not less than 1/5 of the total number of members of the Academic Council will be considered elected.

Article 19. Electing the Head of Administration (chancellor)

1. The next election of the head of the administration (chancellor) or the election to fill the vacant position in case of termination of his authority is appointed by the Academic Council.
2. The Academic Council determines the qualification requirements for candidates.
3. The registration of candidates begins no less than 3 days after the publication of the announcement and continues for at least 5 days. To register a candidate, it is mandatory to submit an identity card or passport and documents confirming the requirements established by the academic council. In case of refusal of registration, the Election Commission's decision will indicate the defects in the documents submitted by the candidate. The error can be corrected within two days. (11.10.2023; N23/17);
4. Elections are held no earlier than 5 days after the completion of the registration of candidates (11.10.2023; N23/17);
5. The candidature of the head of the administration (chancellor) is selected by open voting by the academic council, which is then submitted to the representative council for approval.
6. The head of administration (chancellor) is approved by the representative council for a six-year term by secret ballot. By the law. The candidacy is considered approved if most council members support it. The same person can be presented by the Academic Council to the Representative Council only twice. In case of repeated refusal of the representative council, the academic council will submit a new candidate for the head of administration.

Article 20. Electing the Head of Quality Assurance Service of the University

1. The next election of the head of the quality assurance service of the university or the election to fill a vacant position in the event of termination of his authority is appointed by the academic council.
2. The act issued by the Academic Council on the appointment of elections establishes requirements for candidates and a list of documents to be submitted.
3. The registration of candidates begins within 5 days after the announcement is published and continues for 5 days. To register, candidates must submit their identity card or passport along with documents confirming the requirements set by the Academic Council. If the registration is refused, the Election Commission will provide reasons for the decision and indicate any defects in the candidate's submitted documents. The error can be corrected within 2 days.
4. Elections are held not earlier than 5 days after the registration of candidates. (11.10.2023; N23/17);
5. The selection of the candidate for the head of the quality assurance service of the university is made by secret ballot by the academic council, which is then presented to the representative council for approval.
6. The head of the quality assurance service of the university is approved by the representative council by open vote, for a period of six years, by the law. The candidacy is considered approved if most council members support it.

Article 21. Election of the Faculty Board

1. The faculty's representative body is the faculty's council, which includes all faculty academic staff members and student self-government representatives. The number of representatives to be elected from self-government in the faculty council is 1/4 of the faculty council composition.
2. If the total number of academic staff members of the faculty exceeds 50 members, one representative of each department (academic staff) will be elected to the faculty council based on representation from the faculty according to the department of the faculty. If in the direction of training If the number of departments is three or more, 2 representatives will be elected from each of the three departments of the department. In the case determined by this clause, the number of representatives to be elected from the students' self-government in the faculty council is the number to be elected by the faculty council 1/4 of the total number of academic staff, who are selected by the rules established by the student self-government.
3. In the case established by paragraph 2 of this article, the members of the Faculty Council (academic staff) are elected at the level of the departments, by open voting by the departments. In a department where there is one academic staff member, that academic staff member will be represented on the Faculty Council without being elected. In a department where there are two academic staff members, in case of an even split of votes among the candidates, for the purpose of electing a representative. The lottery is conducted. The department ensures the holding of lots.
4. A professor, associate professor, or assistant professor can be elected as a faculty council member.
5. In the case established by paragraph 2, 14 days before the expiry of the term of office of the Faculty Council, the Faculty Council shall appoint the elections of the Council. The current faculty council shall exercise the prescribed powers until the newly elected faculty council is notified of its powers.

Article 22. Electing the faculty dean

1. The dean of the faculty is elected by the council of the faculty, for four years, by secret ballot. The same person can be elected to the position of dean only twice. The announcement on the start of the registration of candidates for the post of dean is published by the Faculty Council at least 1 month before the start of the registration of candidates, in compliance with the principles of transparency, equality and fair competition. Registration lasts no less than 1 and no more than 2 weeks. Elections are held no earlier than 5 days after the end of candidate registration. (11.10.2023; N23/17);
2. The dean of the faculty is elected by the requirements set for the election of the university rector.

Article 23. Electing the Faculty Quality Assurance Service Head

1. The head of the university quality assurance service submits to the election commission for registration candidacy (candidacies) of the head of the faculty of quality assurance not less than 14 days before the expiry of the term (11.10.2023; N23/17).
2. The respective field's professor, associate professor, and assistant professor can be elected as the faculty's head of quality assurance service.
3. After the candidate elections are registered within the term of not less than 10 days and not later than 30 days. The faculty board defines the date of holding the elections. In case the number of candidates is more than two and none of the candidates can accumulate the necessary amount of votes, repeated voting will be held for the remaining two candidates, and the one gaining the majority of votes will be considered elected (11.10.2023; N23/17).
4. In case of the failure of the board to select the candidate, the head of the quality assurance service of the establishment submits new candidacies within the term of 3 days. Elections are held with the same procedure. The head of the quality assurance service of the faculty is elected for the duration of the faculty's educational program.

Article 24.Pre-election campaigns

1. The candidate elected to the management body can conduct a pre-election campaign. All candidates enjoy equal rights during the pre-election campaign.
2. Voters of the faculty have the right to campaign in support of the candidates to be elected to the governing body.
3. Campaigns and agitations are forbidden on the day of the elections.
4. The following are not allowed to participate in the pre-election campaign:
a) to the members of the election commission;
b) Administration staff.
5. The pre-election campaign and agitation can be carried out by holding various events (gatherings and meetings with voters, public debates, and discussions), publishing printed campaign materials, distributing pre-election calls, statements, and leaflets, and through the production and distribution of photographic material, as well as any other means permitted by law. It is forbidden to interfere with their distribution.
6. Pre-election campaign and agitation should not interfere with the educational process at the institution. It is forbidden to carry out election campaigns and agitations with students during classes, as well as any actions that are inappropriate to the status of a candidate for election (directly or indirectly bribing, giving any favors or privileges, or promising such, etc.), violates the order in the institution or damages the property of the university.
7. The university administration has no right to unreasonably refuse the use of the institution's auditoriums, halls, and other property for the pre-election campaign and agitation. All candidates should be able to use the facilities equally.
8. The refusal in paragraph 7 of this article must be signed in writing. It can be appealed to the election commission within two days of receiving it, which decides within one day.

Article 25. Voting Lists

1. The Election Commission draws up election lists in agreement with the deans of the university's relevant faculties and the university's personnel service.
2. Electoral lists of academic staff and students who are members of the faculty council are drawn up separately.
3. All full professors, associate professors, and assistant professors of the given faculty will be included in the voter lists of the academic staff of the university, except for the doctoral candidate.
4. The voter's name and surname will be included in the faculty's election list.

Article 26. Election ballot

1. Voting by the voter is carried out by marking the election ballot and placing the ballot in the ballot box.
2. The university prints election ballots.
3. Election ballots for academic staff and students are printed separately, and the following is marked on the election ballot:
a) name of the institution and relevant faculty;
b) for the elections of which management body it is intended;
c) list of eligible candidates.
4. It is not allowed to issue more than one ballot paper to each person.
5. Election ballots are issued to students who are members of the Faculty Council upon presentation of an ID card or a certificate confirming student status and to academic staff - based on an ID card.

Article 27. Ballot box

1. The Election Commission ensures the conduct of elections with ballot boxes.
2. On the ballot box, it is marked which management body/bodies it is intended for.
3. Election commission members and observers must ensure the ballot box is empty before voting. Before the voting, the ballot box is sealed by the commission members and observers. Along with the ballot paper of the first voter, a control sheet will be placed in it, which is one of the means of verifying the validity of the election results.
4. The control sheet is drawn up in two copies, and the signatures of the first voter and all election commission members are marked on them. One copy of the control sheet remains in the Election Commission.
5. During the election process, if the ballot box is damaged, the election commission is entitled to discuss the annulment of the election results if it considers that the damage may affect the election results.
6. If, after opening the ballot box, no control sheet was found in it, or the data of the control sheet placed in it did not match the data of the control sheet available in the election commission, the results of the election are declared invalid.

Article 28. Organizing procedures

1. In agreement with the university administration, the election commission is authorized to get the grant;
2. The university provides a separate room for the commission;
3. The election commission defines the time (hour) of starting and finishing the elections
4. The election commission chairman distributes functions among the members of the election commission.

Article 29. Procedure of Elections

1. On the day of voting, a faculty/scientific research unit voter receives a relevant ballot from the registrar of the election commission, which he confirms by signing his name on the list of voters. this
Then, the voter goes to the signing member of the commission, who signs the appropriate place on the ballot paper. Then, the voter enters a specially equipped election booth. After he has circled as many candidates as he wants in the ballot, as many vacant places are allocated for the representatives of the relevant faculty (scientific and research unit), he throws the ballot into the ballot box and leaves the voting room (N23/3; 12.02.2024;).
2. Any separate place where the secrecy of voting will be protected can also be considered a booth.

Article 30. Summarizing Election Results

1. After the end of the voting, the members of the election commission count the number of voters declared for the election according to the signatures in the electoral lists. The minutes reflect the votes received by all candidates participating in the elections.
2. After counting the number of voters registered for the elections, the ballot box is opened, and the election commission members count the ballots.
3. The election ballot is invalid if:
a) the signature of the member of the commission was not found on the ballot;
b) not a single candidacy is marked;
c) more than one candidate is outlined;
d) it is not possible to find out which candidate the voter voted for;
4. Immediately after counting the votes, the election commission fills out the summary protocols, which are signed by all the commission members. which includes the following data:
a) number of voters in the faculty list;
b) the number of voters announced at the elections according to the signatures of the voters in the electoral lists;
c) total number of ballots found in the ballot box;
d) number of invalid ballot papers;
e) the number of votes obtained by each candidate
5. As many candidates with the best results as determined by this regulation for the faculty's academic staff are considered to be elected to the representative council from the faculty.
5.1. In the case of equality of votes, if it is not possible to identify the winning candidate with the appropriate number of votes, then a second round is held within ten days after the elections to determine the winner among the candidates with an equal number of votes. The winner in the second round will be the candidate who receives the most votes from the voters announced at the election.
6. On the day of the election, the election commission, based on the summary protocol of the election results, establishes the summary protocol of the election of the management body.
7. The election of the representative and academic council is considered to have been held if at least 1/3 of the voters included in the voter lists of academic and scientific staff have appeared for the election.
8. If the number of academic and scientific staff voters declared for the elections is less than 1/3 of the voters included in the lists, re-elections shall be held within 2 days.
8. 1. As many candidates with the best results are considered to be elected from among the students' candidates in the representative council, as many student members of the council have been elected.
9. The Election Commission is authorized, within the scope of its competence, to determine other procedural issues of conducting elections.

Article 31. Observer

1. To observe the election process in the university, individuals and legal entities are entitled to apply to the Election Commission for observer status at least 5 days before the election day.
2. A legal entity shall exercise the status of an observer in the elections through one representative, whose identity is indicated in the application submitted to obtain the status of an observer.
3. A person will not be admitted as an observer if he is:
a) a candidate for election to the university management body;
b) a member of the administrative staff of the university;
c) Voter of the faculty where he requests to participate as an observer.
4. The observer has the right to attend the process of voting by voters and consideration of complaints
5. The observer has the right to:
a) in case of discovery of a violation, to indicate the violation to the chairman of the commission and to demand the prevention of the violation;
b) In case of failure of the commission's chairman to comply with the request in sub-paragraph "a" of this paragraph, to submit a statement/complaint to the election commission.
6. The observer is obliged not to interfere with elections.
7. The Election Commission is obliged not to obstruct the observer.

Article 32. Applications and Complaints

1. In case of detection of a violation on the election day, the candidate, observer, member of the election commission or voter of the relevant faculty is entitled to make a statement/complaint, which indicates:
a) name, surname, address of the person making the statement (complaint);
b) The status of the person who made the application (complaint) (candidate, voter, observer, election commission member);
c) the nature of the violation;
d) the time of the violation;
e) the signature of the chairman of the election commission, or a note on the reason for his refusal to sign;
f) identity of witnesses (if there are witnesses who will confirm this factual circumstance) and their signatures;
g) request of the person preparing the application (complaint);
h) signature of the person making the statement (complaint).
2. Within 24 hours after the announcement of election results a candidate, an observer, a member of the election commission or a voter of the relevant faculty has the right to submit an application/complaint to the election commission regarding the violation of the rules defined by this regulation. Complaints will not be accepted after this deadline.
3. The complaint must contain the following information:
a) name, surname, address of the person submitting the application/complaint;
b) the status of the person submitting the application/complaint (candidate, voter, observer, member of the faculty election commission);
c) the nature of the violation and the time it was committed;
d) identity of the witnesses (if there are witnesses who will confirm this fact);
e) request of the person submitting the application/complaint;
f) Signature of the person submitting the statement/complaint.
4. The Election Commission must review the complaint within 3 days and make a proper decision.
5. The election commission decides to declare the election invalid if it considers that the violation of the rule established by this regulation and/or the violation detected in the process of counting the ballots has a significant impact on the election results.

Article 33. Announcing election results

1. The election commission is obliged to post the election results in a place accessible to everyone within 24 hours after the end of the election.
2. The final results of the elections shall enter into force immediately after publication.
Article 34. Declaration of authority of the academic council
1. The first meeting of the academic council is held within 5 days after the publication of the final results of the academic council elections.
2. In case of early termination of the term of office of a member of the Academic Council, elections are held to elect the appropriate representative for the remainder of the member's term of office.
3. Within 45 days from the notification of authority, the academic council elects the head of the university library, who is part of the representative council, by an open vote with the majority of votes on the rector's proposal.

Article 35. Recognition of the Representative Council and Electing the Speaker

1. The date of the first meeting of the representative council shall be appointed by the rector no later than two weeks after the publication of the results of the election of the representative council.
2. The first session is presided over by the senior member of the representative council. The session is authorized if the majority of the members of the list are present.
3. The authority of the newly elected members of the representative council shall be recognized by the council at the first meeting by a majority of the members.
4. The Representative Council elects the Speaker of the Representative Council from among its members by majority votes. A person supported by more than half of the list of members of the Council will be considered elected. If there are more than two bidders and none of them have received the votes required number, on the same day, a repeat vote will be held between the two bidders with the best results. If even in this case the winner could not be identified, within 5 days the session of the representative council is held and the procedure for selecting the speaker is held again.
5. The position of the speaker may be paid.
6. The term of office of the speaker is defined by the term of office of the representative council.

Article 36. Terminating the authority of the Representative Council before the Term

1. The bases for early termination of the authority of a representative council member are:
a) a personal statement;
b) entering into legal force of the guilty verdict issued by the court against him;
c) death;
d) being recognized by the court as a support recipient or having limited capacity
e) Dismissal from university academic (scientific) position or termination of student status. (N23/16 18.12.2017)
2. It is not allowed to elect a student instead of a member of the academic staff who has been terminated or vice versa.
3. In the case of premature termination of the mandate of a representative council member,
for the remaining term of the mandate of the representative council, the candidate who has collected the most votes after the terminated member in the relevant elections becomes a member of the representative council. In the absence of such, elections are held to elect the appropriate representative for the remainder of the term of office of the terminated member.

Article 37. Final decrees

1. This regulation shall be effective upon approval.
2. Chapters II-III of the bylaws approved by Resolution N23/1 of the Representative Council of the TSMU on January 11, 2012 (Art. Art. 2-37) shall be declared invalid.