S.L. 622.2 Art. 6Election for all warrant holders.

The Kamra tal-Periti shall organise an election among all warrant holders to elect members of the Warranting Board in accordance with article 10(1)(d) of the Act and the following requisites shall apply:

(1) There shall always be one (1) elected member from the list of Periti Arkitetti and one (1) elected member from the list of Periti Inġiniera Ċivili sitting on the Board at any one time:

Provided that if the term of one (1) of the elected members expires, the call for nominations shall be for eligible warrant holders in terms of sub-regulation (4) belonging to the same list as the outgoing member, who may recontest.

(2) The members shall be elected by secret ballot through an election held electronically.

(3) At least fourteen (14) days before the date and time established by the Kamra tal-Periti for the election, the Kamra shall issue a call for nominations for candidates for the election. Each nomination shall be signed by the candidate, and by two periti as nominators of the candidate. Nominations are to be received by the closing date established by the Kamra tal-Periti, which date shall not be later than fourteen (14) days prior to the date of the election. Late nominations shall not be accepted.

(4) Only periti who have been in possession of a warrant for at least eight (8) years prior to the date of the opening of the nominations for candidates to submit their respective nomination are eligible to be accepted as candidates for the election;

(5) The Kamra tal-Periti shall select an election official who shall be a notary public to supervize the election. The election official shall:

(a) perform any acts as may be proper to conduct the election with fairness towards all members;

(b) determine the authenticity and validity of the votes;

(c) hear and determine all contestations and questions in any way arising out of, or in connection with the right to vote;

(d) count and tabulate all votes;

(e) ensure that the polls shall close on time;

(f) certify the tabulated results of the election;

(g) ensure that the election is conducted impartially, in good faith and as expeditiously as is practical, and in a manner that protects the interest of all warrant holders.

(6) The Kamra tal-Periti shall register all persons in possession of a warrant on the date referred to in sub-article (3) in its electronic voting system, and shall provide access thereto not less than seven (7) days before the date of the election;

(7) The Kamra tal-Periti shall ensure that as from December 2023 the electronic system:

(a) securely authenticates the identity of the voter;

(b) allows the voter to securely review an electronic ballot prior to its transmission to the electronic voting system;

(c) ensures the secrecy and integrity of each ballot upon transmission of the vote;

(d) is accessible to voters with disabilities;

(e) is secure from, among other things, malicious software and the ability of others to remotely monitor or control the system;

(f) is able to securely communicate with each voter’s electronic voting platform;

(g) is able to securely authenticate the validity of each electronic ballot to ensure that such ballot has not been altered in transit;

(h) is able to securely transmit an acknowledgement to each voter;

(i) is able to securely and permanently separate any authentication or identifying information from the electronic ballot, rendering it impossible to link any ballot to any specific voter;

(j) is able to securely allow members to confirm that their ballot has been received and counted;

(k) is able to store electronic ballots in a secure manner, keeping them accessible for the election official for recount and inspection.

(8) All votes shall be counted and tabulated by the election official in public at a duly notified meeting for all warrant holders. Any candidate and a representative of the Kamra tal-Periti may witness the counting and tabulation of the votes.

(9) The tabulated results of the election shall be promptly reported to the Minister by the Kamra tal-Periti and shall be published in the Gazzette as soon as possible.

(10) The candidate who obtains the most votes shall fill in the vacant seat reserved in terms of article 10(1)(d) of the Act.

(11) In the first election carried out after the enactment of these regulations, the candidate who obtains the second highest number of votes shall sit on the Board for eighteen (18) months in accordance with the proviso to article 10(3) of the Act:

Provided that if the candidate who obtains the highest number of votes belongs to the list of Periti Arkitetti, the candidate who shall occupy the second seat shall belong to the list of Periti Inġiniera Ċivili and vice-versa.

(12) In the case of parity in the election count for any vacant position on the Board pursuant to article 10(1)(d) of the Act, the election official shall select the member to sit on the Board by lot in the presence of the candidates and a representative of the Kamra.