Notice of election for BGS President Elect

28 June 2022

The BGS is holding an election for its next President Elect and members will be able to vote from 28 June at 9am until 22 July at 5pm.

The new President Elect will take office in November 2022 for a two-year term, supporting Professor Adam Gordon as President. After this, they will serve a further two-year term from November 2024 to 2026 as BGS President, succeeding Professor Gordon in the role.
 
There are four candidates standing for election:
  • Dr Jugdeep Dhesi
  • Dr Mark Roberts
  • Dr Emma Vardy
  • Professor Michael Vassallo

For more information about the candidates and their election pledges, please click here.

All BGS members will receive an email with a button to cast their vote from 9am on 28 June 2022. Votes must be cast by 22 July 2022 at 5pm. 

FAQs

Am I eligible to vote?

All current BGS members are eligible to vote in the election. If you need to check your membership status, please contact Mark Stewart, BGS Office and Business Manager, at m [dot] stewart [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk or 020 7608 1369. If you need to renew your membership or would like to become a member, click here.

How do I vote?

You will receive an email with a unique link to cast your vote. Each member is entitled to vote once and the link will expire once it has been used.

You will be asked to rank the candidates in order of preference from 1 to 4. We are using a single transferable vote system.

To ensure anonymity, you will not be required to log in to vote. To check or change the email address linked to your BGS membership, please log into the BGS website, go to ‘My Account’ in the top right hand corner and then click on ‘Manage my account.’

What is a single transferable vote?
To win the election, a candidate needs a set amount of votes, known as the quota – for this election, the quota is set at 51%.
 
Voters will list candidates in order of preference. Once the voting has finished, any candidate who has 51%+ of first choice votes becomes the winner. 
 
If no one reaches the quota, then the least popular candidate is removed from the vote. People who voted for the least popular candidate as their first choice will have their votes moved to their second choice candidate.
 
If no one reaches the quota by this point, then the next lowest candidate is removed, and the votes for them are transferred to their next choice candidate.
 
This would leave two remaining candidates, and simple majority vote would give the winner.
What if I haven’t received an email or the link doesn’t work?

If you have not received the email or need assistance to vote or to confirm your membership standing, please contact Mark Stewart, BGS Office and Business Manager, at m [dot] stewart [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk or 020 7608 13692.

How can I watch the candidates' videos?

Each of our four candidates has recorded a video manifesto lasting around 5 minutes or less. You can view them by clicking on the candidate profiles here.

If the video is buffering, not starting, or has issues with sound, please try reloading the webpage. If you continue to experience difficulties you can contact the website editor, Amy Brewerton, at editor [at] bgs [dot] org [dot] uk. 

When will the results be announced?

We will announce the results in early August, once all votes have been collated and the candidates have been notified of the outcome.