Rules of Participation in the Sixth International Assembly

1.Delegations in the Assembly. The International Coordinating Committee of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS), through the General Secretariat, enjoins the member-organizations of the ILPS to send delegations to the Sixth International Assembly (6th IA) on 23-26 June 2019 in Hong Kong.

The deadline for the submission of accomplished participation forms of delegations shall be February 10, 2019. The International Coordinating Group (ICG) shall process these and communicate further with you to assure you of your accommodation and provide you with further information and close the list of voting delegations a day before the opening of the assembly.

In addition to the delegations of participating organizations, the ICG may invite as guests or observers highly respected individuals and representatives of supporting organizations and institutions in accordance with certain criteria. The preparatory workshop committees have also been authorized to invite similar guests or observers and arrange the funding for their plane fare and accommodation.

 

2. A delegation may consist of one to three delegates. All delegates shall have the opportunity to attend the plenary sessions and workshops of their choice. In the plenary sessions and workshops of its choice a delegation shall have one vote, to be cast by the head delegate or the lone delegate, as the case may be. In the 6th IA, every delegation has increased opportunities for attending workshops because the total number of workshops is divided into two half-day sessions. For instance, a three-person delegation can divide to attend three workshops in one half day session and another three workshops in another half-day session.

2.1.Plenary Sessions. The plenary sessions shall be held on 23, 25 and 26 June 2019

2.2.Workshops. The Workshops shall be held on 23, 24 and 26 June 2019

 

3. The Assembly in plenary session is the sovereign body or supreme organ of the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS). The outgoing International Coordinating Committee is the most responsible organ, subject only to the plenary session, before the election of the incoming International Coordinating Committee (ICC).

 

4. Preparation of Documents for Plenary Approval: Participating organizations are urged to submit on or before 10 February 2019 the following: proposed amendments to the Proposed Rules of Participation in the 6th IA and the Charter and By-Laws of the League. The purpose of submitting drafts of proposed amendments in advance is to allow the International Coordinating Committee and the translators ample time to process them, to ensure efficient use of the allotted time during the plenary sessions and workshops, and to deliberate and approve te documents within the three-day limit of the Assembly. The processing to be done by the ICC includes consolidating or unifying similar proposals and taking into account its own proposals.

Each proposed amendment to the Proposed Rules of Participation in the 6th IA and Charter and By-Laws of the League must be accompanied by an explanation which must be short and incisive and does not exceed half of A-4 page.  Prior to the Assembly, the International Coordinating Committee shall process the proposed amendments to the Charter and By-Laws for presentation and recommendations to the plenary session. The proposed amendments will be discussed pro and con and voted upon within the time allotted during the Assembly.

 

5. The Preparatory Workshop Committees and the Workshops. The workshop preparatory committee shall be responsible for drafting a concept paper for the workshop, a comprehensive resolution for inclusion in the General Resolution or Declaration of the League as well as more specific resolutions on outstanding current concerns and issues and the plan of action for submission to the workshop.

Each workshop shall have the following agenda:  1) It shall discuss the assigned concern.  It may or not have a guest speaker on the concern.  2) It shall deliberate and approve the comprehensive and specific resolutions and the plan of action.  3)  It shall nominate a candidate for election to the International Coordinating Committee.

 

6. Procedural Rules in the Plenary Sessions and Workshops. The plenary sessions and workshops shall decide contested issues of substance and procedure by majority vote of delegates present after a quorum of registered voting delegations is declared.

• The ICC shall propose to the plenary session the formation of a presidium of five persons. The preparatory workshop committee may designate a presiding officer or moderator for every segment of the workshop.
• The presidium in the plenary session and the presiding officers or moderators in the workshops shall be in charge of the orderly and democratic conduct of proceedings, shall follow the schedule in the program of activities and shall ensure that an issue is discussed and decided within the time allotted to it.
• The presidium shall give priority to the deliberation on proposed amendments previously collected by the ICC from the participating organizations. The presiding officers or moderators shall likewise ensure that the agenda of the workshop is fully taken up.
• In the discussion of any issue, the presidium shall recognize speakers from the floor in the order of raising their hands.
• To maximize participation in discussions, every speaker shall be allowed no more than three minutes for every speaking turn, excluding the same amount of time for oral translation or interpretation. After said speaking turn, another speaker must be allowed to speak. The previous speaker has to raise the hand again to take a speaking turn after those ahead of him shall have taken their turns.
• Any member of the presidium who wishes to speak and participate in the discussions must vacate his seat at the presidium and like the rest of the assembly wait for his speaking turn until recognized by the presiding officers.
• Any delegation can make a motion for putting an issue to a vote on the ground that it has been sufficiently discussed. The presidium can rule whether the issue has been sufficiently discussed.
• The presidium can declare the approval of any matter in the absence of any objection.
• In any voting to decide an issue, a delegation shall be entitled to only one vote to be cast by the duly-authorized delegate who is present. This shall apply in both plenary sessions and workshops.
• In giving play to consensus, whenever possible, the presidium may direct the delegations with strong differences to reconcile these during a recess. Otherwise, a vote shall be taken on the issue.
• No substantive or procedural issue shall be allowed to hang beyond the allotted time. Decision shall be made by majority vote on any issue.
• Guests and observers may attend the plenary sessions and workshops. After the priority given to the delegations, if time permits, guests and observers may be allowed to take speaking turns but shall not be allowed to vote on any issue.

 

7. Delegations are expected to sign the documents approved by majority or unanimous vote. However, any delegation may withhold its signature in order to secure the decision of its principal within one month from the last day of the Assembly. It shall also have the option to sign or not to sign the entirety or any portion of any document.

 

8. Nominations for Election to the International Coordinating Committee. Any voting delegation may, by letter, nominate for election to the International Coordinating Committee anyone officer of the mass formation that it represents. Because there is limited time for the delegations to know the candidates during the 6th IA, the nominations must be submitted to the ICC on or before 10 February 2019 and shall be e-mailed or faxed to all delegations not later than 1 March 2019.

The nominating letter must not exceed two pages and must include the following data: name of candidate, sex, date and place of birth, functions in the organization and a list of achievements pertinent to the work of the ILPS.

The above said nominations by participating organizations may come under terms of geographic distribution decided by the ICC or 6th IA. However, each workshop may during the 6th IA nominate a candidate for election to the ICC on grounds of anti-imperialist and democratic advocacy in any concern and expertise or competence in any field.

 

9. Rules of Elections. These rules shall govern the elections of members of the International Coordinating Committee by the plenary session.

• An election committee of five delegates, who are not candidates and who come from five countries, shall be formed by the ICC. It shall receive nominations, prepare and distribute the ballots, supervise the voting, count the votes openly, and declare the winners.  It shall appoint additional personnel, who are not candidates, in order to perform its functions efficiently.
• The delegations shall do the following:

a. Decide in plenary session the number of ICC members and alternate members to be elected, as it is now                        decided that there shall be 27 members and 8 alternate members of the ICC.

b. Nominate the candidates, except in the case of candidates nominated by the workshops.

c. Vote by secret ballot.

• A delegation may nominate no more than one candidate from its organization and shall not nominate the candidate of any other delegation. It must submit to the Election Committee the name of its nominee and the resume of qualifications in no more than one A-4 page not later than 10 February 2019. The nominating delegation is responsible for the translation of the resume into English, Spanish and/or French.
• To ensure the international character of the International Coordinating Committee, no more than three delegates from one country shall be elected to the International Coordinating Committee. If more than three candidates from a single country are nominated and more than three of them receive winning votes, only the three who get the highest number of votes among them shall be deemed elected to the ICC.
• The candidates shall be listed in alphabetic order of their last names. The ballot paper shows the following information: first name and last name, his or her participating organization, function in the organization, country of origin, if different from country of residence.
• A delegation shall have as many votes as the number of seats available for election but shall not be allowed to cast more than one vote per candidate.
• Candidates who receive the highest number of votes shall be declared winners, provided that 9.4 above shall be followed. There shall be a ballot to break a tie for the last seat in the ICC.
• Candidates who get the eight highest number of votes below the elected candidates shall be designated as alternate-members of the ICC.

In the order of the number of votes that they get, they shall fill in vacancies in the ICC due to terminal illness, death, resignation or removal from office, unless the organization of the incapacitated ICC member appoints the replacement.

 

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