Letter from WAPOR President (November 2024)

Video from the WAPOR President: https://youtu.be/f-cPPgUFRC8?si=IJhgl903G2Bg8pHl

Note: This document was translated from English into many different languages. In case of any discrepancy or inconsistency between the English version and any other translation, the English version shall always prevail.

Elections are sacred matters, so November is our sacred month.

I am not talking about any national election, but our own WAPOR annual election. I am writing this letter exactly in the middle of our 4-week election period. This year, we have a record number of 4 Council positions open for election, and we have a record high of 9 candidates joining the election. This is a significant achievement.

With our constitutional reform completed last year, all seats in our Council are now returned by election. Two posts previously appointed by the President have become elected, plus one more position added last year, we now have a record number of 10 elected Councillors, which is a big jump from 7 when I started my presidency.

Unfortunately, as members should have known by now, one important elected seat has become vacant due to the resignation after this year’s election cycle started on September 15, so it was too late to fill this seat by election. I quote the following message from a bulkmail sent to members by our Electoral Committee on October 31:

We are writing in advance of the election to regretfully inform you that our Vice President, David Jodice, last week resigned his position on the Council. At this time, we do not have additional information regarding the reasons for his resignation and wish to respect his privacy. We are informing you of this now in order to make certain this information is public knowledge before election ballots are distributed and to assure you that the election will be held to the highest standards in a manner consistent with past practice. After the election is finalized, WAPOR’s Council intends to consult with members regarding how best to fill the vacancy in our leadership that has been left by this sudden resignation.

This unfortunate event has triggered a series of urgent discussions among our Executive Council, our Electoral Committee and our full Council. A number of possible solutions were discussed and tried, but all went to dead ends. The Council finally decided, after considering the advice of the Electoral Committee, to defer resolving this issue until election is over, which means after November 28 when voting is closed.

According to our WAPOR Constitutional Article IV Section 12, “All vacancies, except the Presidency, occurring between elections shall be filled by the President, giving first consideration to the next candidates receiving the most votes at the time of election. At the next regular election, a candidate shall be elected to fill each unexpired or regular term.” It seems that the President has a constitutional duty to make an appointment, but there are problems:

1. The constitution says “vacancies, except the Presidency, occurring between elections”, but this year’s election has already started on September 15 when open nominations were called. Nomination period ended on October 13, and the vacancy only arose on October 21, so does this stipulation apply? If it doesn’t apply, how can such vacancies be filled during such ambiguous time? This is an uncharted area.
2. The constitution also says “giving first consideration to the next candidates receiving the most votes at the time of election”. What if some “next candidates” have already been nominated for a subsequent election? Do we allow, or even encourage, withdrawal from elections under such circumstances? If yes, it can create a domino effect.
3. To me, the most difficult problem this time is that whoever would be appointed as Vice President after October 21 this year will “automatically” become our next President after a very short time, and this President will arguably not have the members’ mandate through election. Our Constitution does not have any provision for running by-elections.

In light of these difficult problems, coupled with many technical issues, I have come to two conclusions after some deep reflections on the spirit of our WAPOR Constitution: (a) I shall not make an appointment until I have thoroughly consulted the full Council plus our Electoral Committee although the responsibility should be mine, and (b) Whatever arrangements will be made, I want to have our members’ mandate.

I will not go into the possible solutions now, since our election is still going on, and our Council has already decided (technically “advised the President”) to defer resolving this matter. I calculated that there are 33 days left after November 28 and before the expiry of my Presidency. If a referendum is to be held, there must be a voting period of 28 days. We need to act very fast after the election.

Ever since I became a WAPOR member, decades ago, I have been admiring our predecessors’ wisdom in designing a system for us to practice what we preach. For example, our Constitution stipulates that all important leadership posts have to be filled by contested elections (with at least two candidates). Starting last year, this applies to all Council positions. In case we do not have enough nominations, our Electoral Committee (chaired by our Past President, not current President) will search for enough candidates to fill the nomination quotas. I admire this system, and I have explained it many times to our Chapter colleagues when they encountered problems in organizing contested elections.

Another wisdom I admire a lot is our 2+2+2 years of VP/P/PP leadership rotation. It is very clear from our Constitution that members will vote a Vice President into office for two years, who will then become President for two years, then becomes Past President for two more years, then exit from the Council “forever”. I looked around the world, and see many incidents of top leaders around the world trying to cling on power by “staying on” or “coming back” to their top positions via constitutional amendment. In a very recent case, a top leader just “came back” after a break of one term, simply because people voted him back. I don’t want to comment on these cases, I just feel that these should not happen in WAPOR. I feel that a President (and for that matter also the Past President) should not stay on even one day longer after two years, nor should we allow a former President to come back as President after taking a break. Unfortunately, we do not seem to have any viable option which will not infringe one or more of these principles. Fortunately, we have about ten more days to think it over, collectively, and we must move on.

Very recently, I asked our Secretariat for our latest membership figures. After seeing them, I have rekindled my wish that our WAPOR Community headcount would grow to 1,000 at the end of this year when I finish my Presidency. Please help, we are just 56 persons short, and here are the figures: “As of November 13, 2024, WAPOR has 859 members in our database, including individual and organizational members, and Friends of WAPOR. This figure does not include the 85 individual members who joined the SSA chapter locally without registering through our system, bringing the total to 944.” Let us work together to get 56 more members or friends before the end of this year, bearing in mind that whoever pays up to become a member or friend now will have one’s membership or “friendship” covered up to the end of next year, so earlier commitment actually means longer benefits.

Finally, let us not forget our Regional Chapters which are our new fronts to recruit members and friends. Below is part of a “Spotlight Interview” recently published by our Publications Committee (PC) on our website. It is an interview with the leadership team of our Sub-Saharan African (SSA) Regional Chapter after its inaugural conference held in April in Mombasa, Kenya. I highlight the main takeaways:

PC: Looking back at all the conference contributions––panels, posters, roundtables, informal gatherings––vis-a-vis the different subthemes you suggested in the conference call, where did you notice the most interest, dynamics and enthusiasm among attendees when it comes to public opinion research with focus on Sub-Saharan Africa? In other words, what are the hot topics that matter to the region?

SSA: The subthemes that generated most interest included the role of opinion polling in governance, the application of new technologies in data collection, and the impact of polling on social justice and economic development. The most dynamic discussions were also held around the influence of media on public opinion and the challenges of conducting polls in a rapidly digitizing world.

PC: What can WAPOR do to better support and promote the work of your chapter?

SSA: WAPOR could increase funding opportunities for regional research projects and facilitate greater participation in global conferences. Raising the chapter’s visibility through WAPOR’s global network and encouraging collaborations with other regional chapters could significantly expand the chapter’s influence. Additionally, targeted training and resources for emerging researchers would significantly enhance the chapter’s capacity and long-term impact.

PC: Are there any other upcoming regional events, webinars or trainings you would like to share?

SSA: The SSA chapter is planning a series of webinars on key topical issues affecting the region and technical topics such as advanced polling techniques, the use of AI in research, and public opinion trends in Africa. We also hope to have a regional workshop on research methods at the beginning of 2025 to provide more training opportunities for researchers in the region. Details of these events will be regularly updated on our website, social media and communicated through the chapter’s newsletter.

Let me end this letter with this note: We are having a difficult time, somewhat expectedly. Let us face it together, bravely and responsibly. As soon as our annual election is over, I will call on all of you for ideas and suggestions. As I approach the end of my presidency, I hope I can lead our association to overcome this final challenge in a most democratic and conscientious way.

Humbly yours,

Robert Chung

WAPOR President