NUPSA ELECTION 2011

Election Booklet

EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW

ABOUT THE ELECTIONS

WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE!

National Union of Pakistani Students & Alumni

info@nupsa.org
www.nupsa.org
Dear Member,

It is time of the year when NUPSA finds itself at the helm of change and
revolution.

We are pleased to announce and confirm the details of our upcoming AGM
and elections on 6pm on Thursday 28th April at Queen Mary University of
London. Being elected as a member of the NUPSA executive committee
would allow you unparalleled opportunities to serve the needs of the
Pakistani students, alumni and community in Britain and increasingly
internationally.

NUPSA is the forefront of leading youth empowerment and in the process

requires the most talented and dedicated individuals to serve the cause and
the union.

Pakistan Zindabad!

NUPSA

-----------------------------------

Open positions:

1. President
2. Vice President
3. Secretary
4. Media Spokesperson (x 2)
5. Publicity (x 2)
6. Treasurer
7. Web-master
8. Union liaison offer (x 2)
9. Chairman General Council
10. Alumni Executive
11. Public Relation
12. Sponsorship Officer

National Union of Pakistani Students & Alumni

info@nupsa.org
www.nupsa.org
The Timeline
Nominations Open (14th April)
You can now submit your nomination details via the online form which can be
accessed by e-mailing admin@nupsa.org.

Close of Nominations (23rd April)

Ensure that you have submitted your nomination form by 6pm on Saturday 23rd
April.

Election (28th April)

If you are standing for one of the positions you would need to prepare a short
speech of 5minutes about your chosen post and be prepared to answer questions
about your desire to stand for that post and your policies.

Voting (28th April)

Once all candidates have given a speech and answered questions, voting will be
open electronically via online link (link to be notified later), until 6pm Friday 29th
April.

Every affiliated Pakistan Society (affiliated prior to the election announcement), as a

whole, has one vote per candidate. 3 External Alumni and 3 External Students
standing for positions can vote too for the other members. NUPSA Pakistan
Executive can also vote for President.

Results (30th April)

The results will be announced by the election commission on Saturday 30th April,
once the online voting is completed and the counting has been done, checked and
thoroughly verified by the independent people within the Election Commission.

The Elections
NUPSA is a democratic, non-political, non-profitable organisation run by students
and alumni, for students and alumni. This means we have elections to decide who
will represent student and alumni views and campaign for their issues. The aims
and objectives of NUPSA are:

Student unity
Student support and welfare
Provision of funds to charities in the interest of Pakistan and
Pakistanis

National Union of Pakistani Students & Alumni

info@nupsa.org
www.nupsa.org
 Provision of a united Pakistani student voice to any relevant body (e.g.
media or university)
To build bridges between current students and alumni and to provide
alumni with opportunities to network with other alumni.

Many students have not run for elections before so we thought it was a good idea
to give you some tips to what running an election campaign involves.

From the Outset

The main part of your election campaign starts once you have decided what
position you want to stand for. Thus, you should have planned and organised your
campaign, trying your best to gather support and votes to get elected. Here are few
guidelines as to how to proceed.

What position
Choosing the right position to campaign for is one of the most important decisions
that you will make during your relationship with NUPSA. Thus, choose wisely.
Research is the key and this guide aims to make this part of the process as easy as
possible. It is a good idea to ensure that the position you go for best matches your
skill-set and abilities

Don’t be afraid to ask

The experience and the knowledge of those who were in the previous NUPSA
Executive Committee is one of the best steps in terms of getting to know what
exactly your role will potentially involve. The previous NUPSA Executive is more
than happy to talk to you about the roles and answer any questions which you may
have. In order to get in touch please feel free to e-mail at admin@nupsa.org and we
will get you through to the right person to answer your query.

Friends
It is always comforting if you have people helping you to put your campaign at the
forefront. Their input, advice and stances on your policies may help you to better
prepare and gain confidence in your approach.

Planning
As is clear, the position you run for also determines the amount of work necessary
in order to do justice to your role, NUPSA and the wider Pakistani community. Being
organised in this regard means that you should evaluate both your present and
future commitments and see whether they can be balanced with the additional
NUPSA responsibilities of your role.

National Union of Pakistani Students & Alumni

info@nupsa.org
www.nupsa.org
Elections
Every candidate should be prepared for election to prove that they are the best
runner to the NUPSA General Council. This means that even if you are the only
student/alumni running for election you still need to campaign.

Voting
The voting will be open once all candidates have made their speeches and
answered questions. Online voting will be open until 6pm on Friday 29th April.

Election Commission
An election commission, in accordance with the NUPSA constitution, will be in
charge of the electoral process. These will include 2 members of the previous
NUPSA Executive Committee, 1 member of the General Council and 1 independent
person.

Voters
1. The General Council PakSocs:
Middlesex University, King's College London, UCL, Southampton, Cardiff
University, University of the Arts London, St George's University of London,
Brunel University, University of Warwick, Keele University, University of
Surrey, Sheffield, University of Nottingham, Manchester Metropolitan
University, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Northumbria
University, Kingston University, Leeds Metropolitan University, University of
Reading, Regent's College, Liverpool and QMUL
2. NUPSA Pakistan Executive
3. 3 External Students; 3 External Alumni

Eligibility criteria
Extra student position in council
Any student who is not part of an affiliated Pakistan Student society or none exists
in his/her institute can run for one of the maximum three external student
positions, in order to become part of the General Council and thus to stand for a
position on the NUPSA Executive Committee.

National Union of Pakistani Students & Alumni

info@nupsa.org
www.nupsa.org
Alumni representative position in the council:
Any alumni of the universities that are affiliated with NUPSA can run for one of the
maximum three external alumni positions, in order to become part of the General
Council and thus to stand for a position on the NUPSA Executive Committee.

Executive committee positions:

All General Council members can run for any executive committee position.
However:

The President and Vice President require the full one-year’s prior
experience in the General Council.
An alumnus cannot run for the position of President.
Any executive committee member that has been in executive committee
for two terms cannot run for any executive committee position.
No one with the tainted reputation can run for any executive committee
position. This includes for example proven cases of fraud, dishonesty and
corruption.
All positions in the NUPSA Executive are Politically Restricted. No one
political can run for positions on the NUPSA Executive Committee.

Election code of conduct

All candidates from the General Council will be provided with a list of all of the
university Pakistan Societies affiliated. Please remember that one Pakistan society
has only one vote, although there are two representatives which sit in the council.
Voting priority will lay with the elected NUPSA representative. In case there is not a
NUPSA representative then the President of the Pakistan Society has voting priority.

Elections will be held according to applied amendments to the NUPSA Constitution

(Please find a copy of the updated constitution attached to this e-mail). The vote
casting process will be electronic in order to improve transparency.

Any candidate found violating the eligibility criteria and the constitution of
NUPSA will not be allowed to contest now and in the future.

Manifesto
Your manifesto ought to outline what you want to achieve should you be elected.
Having an idea about your objectives for the year is very important for winning the
confidence of the voters. It can further drive you to focus your goals and objectives
for the year to come.

National Union of Pakistani Students & Alumni

info@nupsa.org
www.nupsa.org
Research
Although it is not vital for you to know all about NUPSA before the election, it is
necessary for you to have sufficient understanding about what is expected of you –
whether this be through personal experience or through talking to those in the
relevant positions. It is important that you are involved with Students and Alumni,
in order to truly cater for the needs of both.

The final product

Before putting together the final draft, it is important that you know why you are
standing and what difference it would make to the experience of both students and
alumni. You should aim to think about what platforms are best to put across your
views, whether via flyers, electronic newsletters, or posters. Finally you should aim
to collate all the information that you have researched, spoken about and seen, in
order to have a clear vision for your way forward.

Positions available
President
The President is the figurehead of NUPSA and the main point of contact with the
outside world. The purpose of this role is to achieve goals in line with the aims and
objectives and constitution of NUPSA. The role involves in everything NUPSA does,
particularly bringing students and alumni on a single platform and looking after
issues that affect both alumni and students inside and outside university. The
President is the ultimate decision maker.

Vice President
The Vice President provides support to the President and responsible for looking
after day to day operations of NUPSA, he/she is an acting president in the absence
of President. The role involves in liaising with both internal and external activities
and the direction of NUPSA. The Vice President makes sure that any information
coming in and going out of the organisation has the consent of the President.

Treasurer
It is perhaps the most important post within NUPSA and requires a responsible and
competent candidate to run for this post. The role involves looking after the
finances of the organisation and making sure that the organisations resources are
being best utilised. The treasure must ensure that there is complete transparency
with checks and balances within the organisation. Further, legal accounting
procedures must be used. The treasurer is accountable to both the President and
Vice President.

National Union of Pakistani Students & Alumni

info@nupsa.org
www.nupsa.org
Secretary
It is a supportive and administrative post within NUPSA which requires balancing
out internal and external NUPSA communication and liaising with everyone within
the organisation. The Secretary would be required to look after incoming mails and
queries and, when required, liaising with Pakistani Societies, alumni, sponsors, and
associates. Secretary is accountable to the President and Vice President.

Media Spokesperson (x2)

The post holds a unique responsibility as it is the platform through which the image
of the organisation is built. The media spokesperson acts as a point of contact on all
media related issues and it is its responsibility to portray a positive image of not just
NUPSA but of all the associates, sponsors and concerned societies affiliated with
NUPSA. Moreover, it is necessary that the betterment of Pakistani image is always
at the forefront of any Media communication. The media spokesperson is
answerable to the President and Vice President.

Liaison Officer (x2 – one for North and one for South)
As NUPSA’s Liaison Officer, the responsibility is that of collaborating with Pakistan
Societies across UK that are affiliated with NUPSA, yet at the same time working
hard to get many more societies affiliated with NUPSA. The role requires the
candidate to act as a point of contact between NUPSA and Pakistan Societies,
maintain cordial relations and work towards their betterment, look after their
concerns and issues, and provide assistance to Pakistan Societies whenever
required.

Web-Master
The Web Master’s role is all about being innovative and creative in this field. The
web master should have technical experience for this role as the majority of the
responsibility would be maintaining the website and developing it in terms of
becoming increasingly user friendly for those who visit. Information should be up to
date at all times.

Sponsorship Officer
The Sponsorship Officer’s role is all about getting sponsors for NUPSA’s events. The
role would require the candidate to channelize sponsorship from organisations or
businesses that are strictly non-political, to avoid any political agenda involvement
with NUPSA. The Sponsorship officer would need the consent of the President,
Treasurer and Vice President before any deal or authorization can be given.

Publicity Officer (x2)

This post requires a candidate that has the personality, marketing knowledge and
sincerity towards NUPSA to publicise and attract students, alumni, and people who

National Union of Pakistani Students & Alumni

info@nupsa.org
www.nupsa.org
hold interest within NUPSA, to events organised by NUPSA. The publicity officer
would be required to use marketing tools at its disposal in promoting a successful
event.

Chairman of Council
It is perhaps the most important position for the candidate to look after the best
interest of Pakistan Societies across UK and present it within the Executive
Committee. The Chairman of Council will have to liaise with the Liaison officers to
present the best interest of societies to the Executive Council. The Chairman of
council with the consent of the President will be responsible to call the General
Council meeting.

Public Relation Officer

The position would require the candidate to build up cordial relationships with
external stakeholders of NUPSA, such as the local community, to build up support
and public awareness.

Alumni Executive Officer

This post is only for alumni. The role of the Alumni Executive Officer is to develop
and build an alumni network of those with interest in Pakistan and NUPSA. The
candidate would be responsible to liaise and guide students graduating or looking
for graduate jobs within the UK and at the same time working towards increasing
the social interaction between students and alumni. The Alumni Executive Officer
would be directly accountable to the President.

Make sure you vote for the Change you want to see in NUPSA

National Union of Pakistani Students & Alumni

info@nupsa.org
www.nupsa.org