This Order may be cited as the General Dental Council (President of the Council) Rules Order of Council 2002 and shall come into force on 30th September 2002.

SCHEDULE THE GENERAL DENTAL COUNCIL (PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL) RULES 2002

The General Dental Council, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 1 to the Dentists Act 1984( 2 ) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Rules:

Citation and commencement

1. —(1) These Rules may be cited as the General Dental Council (President of the Council) Rules 2002 and shall come into force on 30th September 2002.

(2) In these Rules—

“the Act” means the Dentists Act 1984;

“the new Council” means the Council as constituted under section 1(2A) of the Act.

Election of the first President

2. —(1) Those persons who are first elected to be members of the new Council under the election scheme made under paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to the Act and those persons who are first appointed as lay members under paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the Act shall meet to elect from among their number a President of the new Council.

(2) Only registered dentists shall be eligible to be candidates for the office of President.

(3) The Registrar shall act as Returning Officer and may appoint a Deputy Returning Officer.

(4) A registered dentist who wishes to be nominated as a candidate for election as President under this rule shall give to the Returning Officer not later than 7 days before the date of a meeting at which the election is to be held a notice of nomination signed by himself and by three other persons falling within the description specified in paragraph (1).

(5) Each person who falls within the description specified in paragraph (1) and who is present at the meeting at which the election takes place shall be entitled to one vote.

(6) The election shall take place by secret ballot and, if necessary, by successive secret ballots until one candidate has an overall majority of the votes cast.

(7) If no candidate receives an overall majority of the votes cast in the first ballot, the name of the candidate who received the smallest number of votes in the first ballot and that of any candidate who wishes to withdraw shall be omitted and a further ballot shall be held.

(8) If no candidate receives an overall majority of the votes cast in the second ballot, the procedure described in paragraph (6) shall be followed and successive ballots shall be held in the same way until one candidate receives an overall majority of the votes cast in a ballot.

(9) In any inconclusive ballot if more than one candidate receives the lowest number of votes cast, a subsidiary ballot shall be held between them and the candidate with the lowest number of votes cast in that subsidiary ballot shall be the candidate whose name is omitted from the subsequent main ballot. In a subsidiary ballot if more than one candidate receives the lowest number of votes cast, further subsidiary ballots shall be held between the candidates tying with the lowest number of votes until one of them is eliminated.

(10) If there is a tie in a final ballot, the Returning Officer shall declare the election to have been inconclusive and the election process shall begin again.

(11) The Returning Officer shall declare the number of votes cast for each candidate in each ballot and shall declare and publish the result of the election.