ABA Board Elections 2019

Electronic vote is a great thing

I'm voting for electronic election

Electronic voting , is very good move for the school and easy for all parents to vote at their fingertips.

I support him %100

I totally agree that there must be electronic voting as it will help a large number of parents to participate in the election procedure. I'm surprised that it hasn't been a practice at ABA! Moreover, it is again astonishing to see the board taking unilateral decisions. Now, it is advancing the elections from 28th May to 1st May. How long will the ABA parents community be taken for granted? I request and appeal that electronic voting be put in place irrespective of the number of people who sign this petition. Thank you.

We need this to increase the voting

Dear Alison, As mentioned earlier the ministry of educations 2006 regulations booklet is very high level and dose not dictate a specific election process or how it should be conducted. Unless otherwise you have access to a latest regulation, which mean that our existing election process is been vetted and certified. I agree with you the software can be vetted by independent consultancy firm such as the big four (E&Y, PWC and Deloitte) as experienced consultant and banker I can confirm all softwares such as price draw and insensitive calculators, which are more complex than voting platforms are vetted independently. Therefore I would suggest that the upcoming elections should be monitored and conducted by independent consultants to insure transparency. Digital signature technology, is completely different and not related to electronic voting

I was very pleased to see electronic voting on the board agenda and as a result don’t feel the board is dragging its heels on the matter. Mrs Al-Kiyumi did allow Mr Meissjen to speak, however I did not hear that because I have a hearing impediment. However it was a break of protocol as I know from the many board meetings that I have attended that the Superintendent has requested the AUDIENCE not to speak during the meeting. As explained in my message to Mr Gill this is the potential role of the TRA as far as their role may be with the Ministry of Education ‘The Ministry of Education will want all technical specifications tested by an independent or tried and tested body, either by their own ‘live in consultancy s’ or the TRA who I know has I know have been the regulating body used by organizations here who want to use electronic signature options’. This is what I said to Mr Gill in response to an earlier comment by him on this platform. Whilst I would love to see electronic voting for ABA board elections I want to know that they are rock solid secure so that we get the caliber of candidates to represent us at board level - who won’t flout our By-Laws and policies, who have respect for due process and the instructions that uphold them

I am greatly in favor of secure ways to achieve maximum numbers of ABA’s School community voting in board elections, in fact I have suggested as much. As a former election member some time ago I was part of a committee who instigated the provision of a secure voting booth near the guard’s office at the school entrance where a greater vote was achieved that particular year despite the heat and I suggested it again at the last PTA meeting. I recognize that Mr Meissen has done a lot of research in a VOLUNTARY capacity For ABA to derive the most secure and confidential online platform for electronic voting but it cannot be rushed through. The Ministry of Education will want all technical specifications tested by an independent or tried and tested body, either by their own ‘live in consultancy s’ or the TRA who I know has I know have been the regulating body used by organizations here who want to use electronic signature options. The verdict of approval or disapproval is entirely arbitrary as far as the main bistro of Education is concerned and will only be given when they are entirely satisfied that it is entirely feasible and secure.

Supported

ABA has, certainly in its recent past, and probably much longer too, never had more than 10-20% parent participation in its elections. The results of elections with such low voter turnout therefore are not a true representation of the parent body. Many countries go to great lengths to increase voter turnout and give greater legitimacy to their election results. This includes compulsory attendance (e.g. Australia, Greece, Belgium), increasing the number of polling booths, absentee polling, weekend voting etc. Shouldn’t ABA be doing the same and try to increase voter turnout by, at the very least, improving the ease of voting? All this petition is asking for is to make it easier for us parents to vote by: 1. Giving us more time by going back to the original date fixed of 28 May (which doesn’t contravene any Policy); and 2. Allowing those who are inconvenienced by having to drive to ABA on working days to vote online. An increased voter turnout will add legitimacy to our elections and encourage more parents to stand as candidates. Mr Meijssen and Mr Wadsworth have done a lot of work and research in choosing the online platform that works best for ABA and sufficiently covers security and confidentiality. I thank them and commend them for their work, and I support this petition.

Dear Alison, I was present at the last board meeting and would like to set the facts straight: 1- electronic voting system was part of board agenda for that day. 2-Mr. Meissen did not breach any protocol, as he was granted the permission to illustrate his product by the chair her self. With regards to the board election of international schools operating in oman, the ministry of education mandates the schools to refer to the regulation booklet issued in 2006. The document is very high level governance document and it dose not define the mechanism on how to conduct the elections. Finally I would like to highlight the role of telecommunication regulatory authorities in oman 1. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) was established in 2002, to liberalize and promote the telecommunications services in the Sultanate under the Telecommunications Act which was issued under the Royal Decree No. 30/2002. TRA is committed to develop the telecommunications sector in the Sultanate by regulating and maintaining the telecom services, promoting the interest of telecommunications services providers and beneficiaries, and ensuring that consumers receive international standards of telecommunications services, with a reasonable range of choices at reasonable prices. The Authority's policies and regulations aim to the development of infrastructure and the attraction of foreign investment into the sector which will result in further promoting the Sultanate's economy and increasing employment prospects for Omani citizens. Objectives: To conclude neither TRA nor any governmental regulatory organization scope includes software certification.

I find it perplexing why anyone would want to resist the implementation of electronic voting! Surely we should appreciate that this would increase voter participation which would ultimately lead to the highest credibility for the elected board. How can only 20% voter participation be considered a satisfactory turnout - does anyone believe this represents the will of the parent community? Please let’s all get aligned on this initiative - it’s healthy to encourage wider participation in these elections and electronic voting will achieve that! I believe even supranational institutions globally use these methods - if it works for them surely it’s viable for us too!!

Dear Alison - Please note that at the last Board meeting I asked the Chairman and was given permission to speak 2 minutes about the option to use electronic voting for the upcoming Board elections. Thomas

It is entirely misleading to claim that the board is dragging its heels over the implementation of electronic voting. I was at the board meeting at the end of March when Mr Meissen broke protocol amongst others by furthering interruption to the meeting and requesting that electronic voting be implemented. Given that any change in election processes, including methodology of voting is governed by ABA’s By-Laws which includes that the Ministry of Education must be involved and ultimately ratify election and voting changes due process and diligence is required. The software will be referred by the Ministry of Education to the TRA ( the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority. In my experience the ministries here are thorough in their assessment and instigation of any legislation change especially when it's setting such a precedent in voting methodology in international community such as ABA and possibly subsequently others who are classified by the Ministry in the same manner ie the British School and Taoism. We must respectfully await due process by the Ministry of Education, the ultimate decision maker in this

Mr Meijssen, I find your approach wholly inappropriate. My personal contact information is for school purposes only and not for individual parents to use to bombard us with their personal agendas with regards to how the school should be run. It is a breach of our privacy. This petition is deja vu of last year debacle where one parent with what appears as a personal and hidden agenda tried to influence parents emotionally. The email sent by the treasurer was not an official communication from the school nor did it have any official statement of accounts. I find the action of the treasurer & yourself divisive to the school community as well as defaming the school's reputation at the expense of the education of our children (how will we maintain and attract good teachers/principals in this environment). Imagine if each parent took up their issues or disagreement with the school to all parents, it would be a zoo and right now its descending to one. It's not the example that should be set for the children. The Board, all independent members, have not agreed to take on e-voting this year. There must be good reason. Take your issue through the proper channels rather than involve all of us parents with only one side of the story shared and using misleading information. I, for one, would be skeptical of any online voting given the controversy that the school is getting embroiled in by the actions of some parents. I would like to see parents physically and personally verified at the time of voting or their proxies during these tumultuous times to ensure transparency. I also think the time available is more ample to do any voting.

I agree to keep the original date for the election, so new candidates can have enaugh time to think about stepping in and play an important role in the board. And I STRONGLY AGREE with the electronic voting. We love ABA it is our second home. Thank you for your suggestions.

It was high time that electronic voting system started !!!

the election should be moved to its original date 28th of May with electronic voting system. we need highly professional people with experience and good decision making skills.

You mention that you started this petition after you received an email from the ABA treasurer - I thought I would point out that any financial reporting can be slanted to reflect any outcome a person wishes to show - so I personally take his email with a pinch of salt, I also feel that as Treasurer of the Board - it was extremely bad form to send out that email - after last year - I thought the whole issue of untrustworthy board members was a thing of the past... However - with regards to dates and electronic voting - I agree - this needs to be done, so am happy to sign - I just want to make sure - that I point out I am not signing this as an agreement that I believe everything the Treasurer sent out - it is purely that I want to be able to vote electronically.