Co-operatives Act, 2005 (Act No. 14 of 2005)RegulationsPrinciples of Good Governance for Co-operatives7. Voting rights |
The second co-operative principle deals with democratic member control and specifically refers to voting rights. In terms of South African co-operative legislation, members of primary category A and B co-operatives, have equal voting rights, i.e. one member one vote, and category C primary co-operatives, secondary and tertiary co-operatives and the national apex co-operative are also organised in a democratic manner.
Where the constitutions of primary category C, secondary, tertiary and the national apex co-operatives provide for differentiated votes it must be subject to the following legislative requirements:
| (a) | Three members, no member has voting rights in excess of 40% per cent; |
| (b) | Four members, no member has voting rights in excess for 30%; |
| (c) | Five members, no member has voting rights in excess of 25%; and |
| (d) | In instances where there are more than 5 members, the constitutions of category C primary, secondary, tertiary and the national apex co-operative may provide that members may have more than one vote provided that no member shall have more than 17% of the votes. |
In addition to the above, voting rights in respect of category C primary co-operatives, secondary and tertiary co-operatives registered in terms of applicable legislation prior to the Co-operatives Amendment Act No. 6 of 2013 are regulated by the provision on voting rights contained in their constitutions as it was immediately prior to the commencement of Co-operatives Amendment Act No. 6 of 2013.
Associate members do not have any voting rights.
7.1 Proxies
The constitution of a co-operative may allow for members to appoint proxies to attend and vote at general or special meetings on that member’s behalf or for postal votes but proxies should be seen as exceptional and should not be recurring. Irrespective of the provisions for proxies in the constitution of a co-operative, proxies are subject to the following minimum legislative requirements:
| (a) | No member may appoint more than one proxy to exercise that member’s voting rights; |
| (b) | The number of proxies that a member of a co-operative with 20 members or more may carry on behalf of other members may not exceed 5% of the total membership of the co-operative concerned (the constitution of the co-operative may stipulate a smaller percentage); |
| (c) | In a co-operative with less than 20 members, a member may only carry one proxy on behalf of another member; |
| (d) | The total number of votes by proxy during any general or special meeting may not exceed 25% of the total membership of the co-operative concerned (the constitution of the co-operative may stipulate a smaller percentage); |
| (e) | A proxy appointment must be in writing, dated and signed by the member; |
| (f) | A proxy appointment must clearly set out the details of the vote to be cast on behalf of the member in respect of each decision on the agenda; |
| (g) | A proxy appointment remains valid for the period expressly set out in the appointment, unless it is revoked in writing by the member concerned prior to the meeting. |