ARTICLE 11

ELECTION OF NATIONAL OFFICERS

1. (a) Election of National Officers shall hold once every two years.
(b) All members shall, subject to the provisions of Article 4 of this Constitution, be eligible to contest election to any office, provided that no member may contest more than one office.
(c) The provisions of Article 4 Section (1) Sub- section (a) as they apply to any candidate for election shall also apply to any proposer or/and seconder of a candidate for election to any office of the Association.
2. Notice shall be given by the Secretary-General of the Association for nominations to all National Offices at least 12 weeks before the date fixed for the Annual General Conference counted from the date of dispatch.
3. Such nominations shall be on specified forms and shall disclose the title of the office, the name of the candidate, his signature, the names and signatures of his proposer and seconder as well as a brief resume of the candidate listing previous activities within the Association and the profession.
Nomination forms shall be designed centrally, and made available at the National Secretariat and the Secretariats of all State branches and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Branch.
4. Nomination forms duly completed, shall be mailed, sent or brought in sealed envelopes marked "CONFI-DENTIAL - Elections" addressed to the Secretary-General at the National Secretariat to reach him not later than 1500 Hours (3.00 p.m.) Nigerian Time on the specified closing date. Each envelope shall be stamped on the day it is received and kept intact until vetting day.
5. (a) Nominations shall close six weeks before the opening date of the AGC.
(b) Any postponement of the AGC and/or ADM after the closing date shall not invalidate these nominations and the closing date as set out in the first notice or/and announcement unless otherwise determined by the ADM.
6. Opening of nomination envelopes shall take place at 1600 hours (4pm) Nigerian time on the closing date. At the time, the Secretary-General or the Deputy Secretary-General shall, in the presence of at least one other National Officer, open all the envelopes received before closing and compile a list of all candidates duly nominated, their sponsors and the offices for which they are nominated and a brief resume of each candidate as contained in the nomination form. Nothing shall preclude interested candidates from being present or represented at the vetting. The compiled list of all properly completed nomination forms shall be signed by all National Officers vetting it.
7. Any postponement of the opening of the nomination envelopes due to non-fulfillment of the provisions of the Constitution as in 11(6) above shall not invalidate these nominations and the closing date unless otherwise determined by the ADM.
8. A copy of this compilation shall immediately be sent out to all State branches and all contesting candidates.
9. Any candidate may withdraw his nomination in writing at any time before the commencement of the AGC provided the candidate shall ensure the receipt of the withdrawal letter before the commencement of the AGC.
10. (a) Election of National Officers, where there is a contest, except for the Editor of NMJ, shall take place at the ADM unless otherwise prescribed herein in this Constitution. Voting shall be done en-bloc by a roll call of State and the FCT branches.
(b) During an election at the Delegates' Meeting, members present shall have the right to propose and second any candidate to any vacant office when there is no validly nominated candidate at the close of nominations.
11. Before the commencement of the election, the ADM shall appoint a Returning Officer whose duty it shall be to conduct the election as laid down by the Constitution of the Association. The appointment shall be by nomination and if required, voting shall be as in 10(1). 12. The President shall, following the appointment of the Returning Officer immediately dissolve the National Executive Council.
13. Every elected officer shall hold office immediately after the conclusion of the election in the year of his election until the dissolution of the NEC at the next ADM of an election year.
14. Any candidate validly proposed and seconded for an office shall be declared elected unopposed if there is no other validly nominated opposing candidate for the office at the close of nominations. The tenure of office of the unopposed candidate shall commence with other elected officers immediately after the conclusion of the Delegates' Meeting in the year of his election until the dissolution of the NEC at the next ADM of an election year.
15. If for whatever reason, election of officers becomes inconclusive, the Returning Officer shall immediately summon a committee of Past Presidents who shall elect from among themselves at least three members to run the affairs of the Association for three months within which another election shall be conducted. The committee so constituted shall select from among themselves a Chairman provided it shall not be the immediate Past President. The committee shall call for fresh nominations except for offices for which candidates have been returned unopposed.
16. Any candidate who is validly nominated and absent from the venue of the election shall be voted for in absentia.
17. A candidate for the post of the President shall have been a voting member of NEC for at least twelve consecutive calendar months in any one year before his nomination.
18. All offices shall be voted for at the same time. Announcement of election results shall be made in a reverse order of precedence. That is, the presidential election results shall be announced last. The Returning Officer shall hand over the records of voting and results of the election to the President who shall in turn hand them over to the Secretary-General for safe-keeping as part of the Association's permanent records.