Building Societies Act, 1989

Directors: supplementary provisions as to elections, etc.

51.—(1) A building society shall give notice of the latest date for the receipt of nominations for election as a director in either of the following ways—

(a) by publishing it in at least 2 daily newspapers published in the State and circulating in the area in which the chief office of the society is situated and such notice shall be published not earlier than 42 days before such date; or

(b) by sending it, not earlier than the date on which notices are issued for the preceding year's annual general meeting to all members who would at the date of the notice be entitled to notice of an election of directors,

as the rules provide, and in either case the notice shall be published or sent, as the case may be, not later than 21 days before the latest date for the receipt of nominations.

(2) If a duly nominated candidate for election as a director of a society furnishes the society with an election address of not more than 300 words before the closing date for nominations, then, subject to subsection (3)

(a) it shall be the duty of the society, at its expense, to send a copy of the address to each member of the society who is entitled to notice of the election; and

(b) each member's copy shall be sent in the same manner and, so far as practicable, at the same time as the notice of the meeting at which the election is to be conducted or the ballot papers are sent out, as the case may be;

but failure to comply with a requirement of this subsection shall not of itself invalidate the election.

(3) Subsection (2) does not require a society to send copies of an address to members of the society in any case where—

(a) the contents of the address would be likely to diminish substantially public confidence in the society, or

(b) the rights conferred by that subsection are being abused to seek needless publicity for defamatory matter or for frivolous or vexatious purposes,

and that subsection shall not be taken to confer any rights on members, or to impose any duties on a society, in respect of an address which does not relate directly to the affairs of the society.

(4) Where the society refuses, or proposes to refuse, to circulate an election address, the society shall, within 7 days after the receipt of the address, notify the member who furnished it of such refusal and the grounds for the refusal and the said member may, within 7 days of the refusal, refer the refusal to the Central Bank who may direct the society to comply with the request subject to such conditions as the Bank may require.

(5) (a) The person appointed under the rules of a society to supervise the conduct of an election of directors shall prepare and submit to the Central Bank a report on the conduct of the election—

(i) stating whether in his opinion the election was conducted in accordance with the provisions of this Act, regulations made thereunder and the rules and otherwise with fairness and integrity;

(ii) containing details of the number of proxy instruments received, the number declared invalid categorised by cause of invalidation and the number of votes attributable to valid instruments; and

(iii) containing such other information as may be required by the Bank.

(b) The Central Bank may, as it thinks proper, disclose some or all of the contents of a report under paragraph (a) to a duly nominated candidate.

(6) A society shall retain for a period of one year from the date of the election all ballot papers and all its documents and records relating to an election of directors.

(7) The Central Bank may, following consideration of the report made to it under subsection (5), if it thinks proper, apply to the Court for an order setting aside the result of an election of directors and directing the society to hold another election.

(8) An employee, other than an officer, of a society, not being himself a candidate, who, at the place of his employment or of a meeting of the society, solicits support for a candidate for election as a director or invites a member of the society to appoint as his proxy any particular person to vote in an election shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding £300.