ABOUT ISA

The Executive Committee shall be elected at each ISA World Congress and shall hold office until replaced at the next World Congress.

I. Nominations

Statutes of the International Sociological Association
https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/about-isa/statutes

Article Ten: Nominations and Elections

1. At least one year before each World Congress, the Council of National Associations (CNA) and the Research Council shall each elect a Nominating Committee (NC) with five members.
   A reserve member shall also be elected for each to fill any casual vacancies.
   All of their members must be regular individual members in good standing.
   No more than two members of each may be drawn from the outgoing Executive Committee.
   Each CNA representative shall be drawn from a different National Association, and each Research Council representative from a different Research Committee.
   Each NC shall select from among its membership a chairperson who will be responsible for organising its work, in cooperation with the Secretariat.
    
2. The NCs each have the task of drawing up slates of nominations for election to their Council’s eight places on the Executive Committee (EC) and, acting as a single committee with the current President as its non-voting chair responsible for arranging liaison between them, of candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidencies.
   Members of the NCs are ineligible as candidates for any of these positions The slates shall comprise at least two candidates for each position. Each Nominating Committee (NC) shall seek nominations, with appropriate biographical information, from its own constituency: the Council of National Associations’ NC from the national associations and the Research Council’s NC from the Research Committees. Nominations, supported by two members in good standing and including evidence of the candidate’s consent, may be submitted to the Nominating Committees by all ISA regular members in good standing, except individual members of the NCs. The NCs may also actively solicit further candidacies and collectively make their own nominations.
   
   The Nominating Committees should, separately and jointly as specified, draw up slates selected, at their discretion, from the nominations made and send them (for the EC) to the members of the relevant Council and (for the officerships) to the members of the Assembly of Councils, not later than three months prior to the World Congress. If the nominations received by this time are insufficient or do not adequately meet the criteria stated in Article 10.4, the deadline may, in consultation with the President, be extended to allow the search for nominations to continue.
    
3. All candidates must have been individual members in good standing of the ISA since the previous World Congress and must still be so at the time when the NCs finalise their list. After two consecutive terms on the Executive Committee no member is eligible for a further consecutive term, except as President.
    
4. In drawing up their slates the Nominating Committees shall consult their constituencies, and give due consideration to the diversity of fields within sociology, to geographical representation and to gender as well as to candidates' experience in organising international activities, liaising with each other to promote these ends. 
    
5. Nominations may also be made from the floor at all elections,if supported by five members of the relevant Council and made with the consent of the candidate.
    
6. The Assembly of Councils shall elect the President, then each Vice-President (in the order Research, National Associations, Publications, Finance and Membership), by secret ballot. In the case of a tie, another vote shall be taken. The election of the Executive Committee members shall follow the election of the President and the Vice- Presidents.
   
   Defeated candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidencies may, if otherwise eligible, choose to have their names added to the ballot for the Executive Committee.
    
7. The Executive Secretary of the ISA cannot be a member of the Executive Committee.

Nominations from the floor

Rules approved by ISA Executive Committee in 1998, revised in 2002, 2013, and in 2023

Further nominations may also be made from the floor for all elections, if supported by five members of the relevant Council and made with the consent of the candidate.

1.  All candidates must have been ISA individual members in good standing since the previous World Congress and must still be so at the time of elections.
    
2.  All proposers must be delegates to the Research Council or to the Council of National Associations from an association in good standing.
    
3.  A duly signed nomination form should be received at the ISA stand at the Congress registration area at least two days before the scheduled election.

II. Procedures for ISA Elections

Approved by ISA Executive Committee in 1998, revised in 2002, 2013 and in 2019

A. Election of President and Vice-Presidents by the Assembly of Councils

1. The Assembly of Councils shall elect the President, then each Vice-President (in the order Research, National Associations, Publications, Finance and Membership) by secret ballot.
    
2. A candidate to be elected must have an absolute majority of the votes cast, provided that there is a quorum.
    
3. If on the first round of voting, no candidate receives an absolute majority, there shall be a further round of voting, a vote being held among the two candidates having received the largest number of votes.
    
4. If, however, there is a tie for second place, the second round of voting shall be held among the candidates having the largest number of votes and those tied for second place.
    
5. If the second round still does not result in one candidate receiving an absolute majority, further rounds with further eliminations will be held until someone receives an absolute majority.
    
6. Prior to the elections for President and Vice-Presidents, candidates shall give short speeches. Candidates for President shall have 10 minutes, and candidates for Vice-President shall have 5 minutes each.
    
7. A defeated candidate for President or Vice-President shall, if otherwise eligible, choose to have their names added to the ballot for the Executive Committee.
    
8. The out-going President, the Executive Secretary and one ISA staff member nominated by the President shall count the ballots.
    

B. Election of members of the Executive Committee by the Council of National Associations and by the Research Council   

1. The election of the Executive Committee members by the Council of National Associations and by the Research Council shall follow the election of the President and Vice-Presidents.

2. All delegates must vote by secret ballot for the total number of candidates to be elected.

3. Candidates must receive an absolute majority of the votes cast, provided there is quorum, in order to be elected.

4. If on the first round, fewer than 8 persons are declared elected because they have received an absolute majority, further rounds of voting shall be held for the seats yet unfilled.

5. In each further round, delegates must vote for the number of seats to be filled.

6. The vote shall be held among the top candidates unelected in the previous round, up to the number of candidates which is twice the number of seats to be filled.

7. If there is a tie for the last place of eligibility, all persons tied for this place shall be eligible for the next round.

8. This procedure shall continue until 8 persons are elected with an absolute majority of votes cast.

9. There shall be short statements (5 minutes) by each of the candidates preceding the election. 

10. The out-going President, the Executive Secretary and one ISA staff member nominated by the President shall count the ballots.

III. Duties of ISA Executive Committee

Statutes of the International Sociological Association
https://www.isa-sociology.org/en/about-isa/statutes

Article Eight: The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee’s tasks shall include: proposing policies to the Assembly of Councils and carrying out the policies established by it; proposing the membership dues to the Council of National Associations, the Research Council or to the Assembly of Councils; acting on matters of urgency, and reporting on activities periodically to the Council of National Associations, the Research Council and the Assembly of Councils.

1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President of the ISA, its four Vice-Presidents, and sixteen other members elected by the Research Council and the Council of National Associations.
    
2. The Executive Committee shall be elected at each ISA World Congress, and shall hold office until replaced at the next World Congress.
    
3. In case of vacancy among those Executive Committee members who are not President or Vice-President, their place shall be taken by the candidates ranking highest in number of votes among those not elected and still available. (For vacancies among President and Vice-Presidents, see 9.4.)
    
4. The Executive Committee shall have, in addition to the RCC, a sub-committee for National Associations, and sub-committees for Publications and for Finance and Membership, which shall be chaired by the relevant Vice-Presidents. Other members of the Publications Sub-Committee shall include the editors and book review editors of all ISA journals and book series, and 3 EC members (one from the RCC) elected by the Executive. Other members of the Finance and Membership Sub-Committee shall be three EC members elected by the Executive. The EC members for Publications and Finance subcommittees will be chosen at the first meeting of the new EC. There is also a Programme Sub-Committee, on which see By-laws 5.
    
5. Ad hoc sub-committees may be formed from among the Executive Committee’s members to make recommendations on particular matters.
    
6. The Executive Committee shall meet during the ISA World Congresses, and at least twice between every two Congresses. Its meetings shall be chaired by the President or, in his/her absence, by one of the Vice-Presidents nominated by the President. It shall take its decisions by a majority vote of those present and voting, the chairperson having the casting vote in case of a tie.
    
7. Individual members of the EC should serve on at least one sub-committee if appointed to it, and act to represent and further the interests of the Association in their home areas. They should also take an active part in EC discussions, sending comments if unable to attend meetings. (For additional tasks of officers, see article 9.)
    
8. Any member of the EC who does not carry out the basic functions of membership, or offer appropriate reasons for a temporary inability to do so, shall after a period of 6 months’ notice (given by the Executive Secretary after consultation with the President - or, in the case of the President’s inactivity, with the Vice-Presidents) be deemed to have resigned unless circumstances make this inappropriate. If such a case arises, the Executive Secretary shall notify the EC and the EC shall decide how to deal with it.

Article Nine: The President and the Vice-Presidents

1. The ISA President shall legally represent the Association both internally and externally, and shall have general responsibility for the implementation of the Association's policy and for supervision of the activity of the Secretariat. S/he shall chair the meetings of the EC; in his/her absence, the meeting will be chaired by a Vice-President nominated by the President. The President is also responsible for the development of the programme for the next World Congress, in collaboration with the Programme Committee and in liaison with the Local Organising Committee.
2. There shall be four Vice-Presidents, responsible, respectively, for Research, National Associations, Publications, and Finance and Membership. Their responsibilities will be:
   
        a.   Research - to oversee and coordinate the activities of RCs, WGs and TGs, to propose policies in the area of research, and to encourage comparative and cross-national research.
   
        b.   National Associations - to maintain liaison with regular collective members, and to propose policies and activities to respond to their needs.
   
        c.   Publications - to oversee the running of the Association's publications, and to propose policies in the area of publications.
   
        d.   Finance and Membership - to oversee the Association's financial affairs in liaison with the Secretariat, and to propose policies in the area of finance and membership
    
3. The ISA President and Vice-Presidents shall hold office for a four-year term between consecutive World Congresses. They shall not be eligible for re-election to the same office.
    
4. In case of a vacancy in the office of the President and/or any Vice-President, the Executive Committee shall elect an Interim President or Vice-President until the end of the uncompleted term, should it consider it necessary to fill the office.

Nominating Committees for the elections of ISA Executive Committee 2023-2027
 

Research Council Nominating Committee
Stephanie CASSILDE, Belgium, RC25 Language and Society
Isabel DA COSTA, resigned
Liana DAHER, Italy, RC48 Social Movements, Collective Action and Social Change
Melanie HEATH, Canada, RC32 Women, Gender, and Society
Habibul KHONDKER, United Arab Emirates, Social Transformations and Sociology of Development
Helma LUTZ, Germany, RC05 Racism, Nationalism, Indigeneity and Ethnicity
Chair: Habibul KHONDKER, United Arab Emirates, Social Transformations and Sociology of Development

Council of National Associations Nominating Committee
Gerald Zihembire AHABWE, Uganda Sociological and Anthropological Association
Nilay CABUK KAYA Turkish Sociological Association
Kaja GADOWSKA, Polish Sociological Association
Milla MINEVA, Bulgarian Sociological Association
Celi SCALON, Brazilian Sociological Association (out-going EC member)
Chair: Filomin GUTIERREZ, out-going VP National Association