Government Employees Pension Law, 1996Schedule 1 : Rules of the Government Employees Pension Fund4. Management of the fund4.5 Election of Employee Trustees |
| 4.5.1 | Appointment of Independent Electoral Agency |
| (a) | The Board shall appoint an independent electoral agency that shall oversee the nomination and election process and shall ensure that the elections are free and fair. |
| (b) | The independent electoral agency shall comply with its duties as set out in the Election Policy, the rules and applicable legislation. |
| 4.5.2 | Nomination, Voting and Election Procedure |
Nomination
| (a) | The nomination process for submission of nominations shall be determined in accordance with the Election Policy. |
| (b) | Each Member employed by South African National Defence Force and the State Security Agency may jointly nominate at least one candidate to stand for election to the Board as an employee trustee which candidate must be a member employed by either the South African National Defence Force or the State Security Agency. Such nomination must be seconded by another active member of the Fund employed by the South African National Defence Force and the State Security Agency. |
| (c) | Each pensioner shall be entitled to nominate one candidate to stand for election to the Board as an employee trustee which candidate must be a pensioner member of the Fund. Such nomination must be seconded by another pensioner member of the Fund. |
Voting
| (d) | All duly nominated candidates shall, subject to eligibility requirements set out in the rules and the Election Policy, be placed on the ballot for election to office. |
| (e) | The election shall occur by way of postal ballot, electronic or any other means determined by the Board as being reasonable in the circumstances. |
Election
| (f) | The election of employee nominees, as contemplated in rule 4.3.2(a) and rule 4.3.2(b), shall be conducted by postal ballot and such elections shall be held every four years and shall be determined by the Election Policy. |
| (g) | The persons elected shall be ranked according to the number of votes received for each category of candidates. |
| (h) | The pensioner candidate with the highest number of votes shall be the pensioner elected employee trustee. |
| (i) | The South African National Defence Force and the State Security Agency candidate with the highest number of votes shall become an employee trustee. |
| 4.5.3 | Substitute Trustees |
| (a) | A substitute acts in the place of the trustee on behalf of whom he or she was designated as a substitute in such a trustee's absence or cessation of office, and he or she at such instance has all the competencies and obligations of a trustee. |
| (b) | The responsible Minister shall appoint a substitute trustee for each employer appointed trustee. |
| (c) | The pensioner candidate with the second highest votes after the candidates referred to in rule 4.5.2.(h) above, shall be the elected substitute trustee to the pensioner elected representative trustee. |
| (d) | The South African National Defence Force and State Security Agency candidate with the second highest votes after the candidate referred to in rule 4.5.2.(i) above, shall be the elected substitute trustee to the South African National Defence Force and State Security Agency elected trustee. |
| (e) | The Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council shall provide the Fund with a list of substitute trustees relevant to the elected Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council trustees, to depict the proportionate union membership in the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council. |
| (f) | If for any reason the elected trustee or substitute are unable to take office or to continue in office then the person with the next highest votes, within a specific category being either pensioner or South African National Defence Force and State Security Agency elected trustee, will be approached to take office as trustee and/or substitute, and remain in office subject to the rules. This process shall be followed, by way of the highest number of votes next received taking office, until such time as there are no candidates available, in which case an election will be held for purposes of the elected incumbent holding office for the remaining term of the initially elected trustee. |