2023 Election Information

Bangladesh Association for Greater Kansas City (BAGKC) is a Non-Profit Community Organization (within the meaning of section 501c) for the promotion and preservation of Bangladeshi heritage in the Greater Kansas City area. 

Voting Eligible Members:

§ According to BAGKC Constitution, membership is open to everyone residing in the States of Kansas and Missouri. Therefore, all paid members from the States of Kansas and Missouri shall be eligible to vote for the Election of the Executive Committee Officers.

§ Members must pay their membership dues on or before the Election Day to become eligible to vote in the Executive Committee Officers’ Election.

§ According to BAGKC Constitution, there are four different classes of memberships and these are: (1) GENERAL MEMBER - shall include all registered members, (2) STUDENT MEMBER - shall include all students enrolled in the States of Kansas and Missouri, (3) PERMANENT MEMBER - shall include members who have donated at least USD 300 to the association (permanent members will be members for life and shall not be required to pay yearly membership dues), and (4) HONORARY MEMBER - shall include all others designated such by the executive committee (honorary members cannot vote or run for office).

§ The residents of the States of Kansas and Missouri can obtain two categories of memberships under each of the first three classes (General, Student and Permanent). These two categories are: (i) Family Membership and (ii) Individual Membership with separate membership dues.

§ In case of the ‘Family Members’, every adult (18 and above) member of the family can participate in the election (nomination and voting) as long as that adult member is a resident of the States of Kansas and Missouri.

§ In the case of the ‘Individual Members’, only the designated individual member can participate in the election (nomination and voting). Non-paying adult members of the family of the Individual Members shall not be eligible for the election even if they are residents of the States of Kansas and Missouri.

Formation, Term, Nomination and Election of the Executive Committee:

§ The Executive Committee (EC) is comprisedof thirteen (13) elected officers: President (1), Vice President (1), General Secretary (1), Assistant General Secretary (1), Membership Coordinator (1), Treasurer (1), Cultural Secretary (1), Sports Secretary (1) and General EC Member (5).

§ Executive Committee Officers shall be elected by the voting-eligible members of BAGKC. Different classes and categories of memberships and voting eligibilities are described in the section above.

§ Executive Committee Officers shall be elected for two (2) years. According to BAGKC Constitution, the fiscal and operating year for BAGKC shall be defined as May 1 to April 30.

§ The election of the officers for a new Executive Committee shall take place during the Annual Meeting.

§ The nominees and nominators for the Executive Committee must be paid and voting-eligible members on the day of submitting the nomination form. 

§ BAGKC Constitution allows both the nomination by another active member and the self-nomination for the Election of the Executive Committee Officers.

§ The nominations must be submitted before the nomination deadline following the instructions circulated by the Election Commission Members. 

§ All the instructions and forms shall be circulated by BAGKC Email List and posted on BAGKC Election Website.

§ No nomination will be accepted after the nomination submission deadline and on the Election Day. However, the Election Commissioners shall have the right to seek additional nomination on the Election Day only if there is no nominee for a position of the Executive Committee. 

The election commissioners have set the following dates as election schedule:

1. Nomination Form Submission: Sunday, April 16, 2023 (by 8.00PM CST).

• Both the nominees and the nominators must be paid and eligible voting members of BAGKC on or before April 16, 2023 to submit the nomination. However, members can become eligible to vote by paying their membership dues on or before Election Day. Election Commissioners shall determine the eligibility of the nominees and the nominators based on the BAGKC Constitution and Executive Committee Election By-Laws.
• The nomination forms can be submitted via email before the deadline. 
• The Election Commissioners are not responsible for anyone’s failure to submit the nomination on time due to email/internet/technical errors from the sender’s side. 
• It is recommended that the members would send the nominations well before the deadline to avoid unwanted delay due to internet/communication issues.

2. Publication of the List of Eligible Candidates: Sunday April 23, 2023.

• Any eligible voting member can appeal against the exclusion/inclusion of any nominee or any other decision made by the Election Commissioners.
• The Election Commissioners shall review and provide rulings to the appeal before the nomination withdrawal deadline.
• The list of eligible candidates will be shared only with the current Executive Committee members, nominators and the nominated candidates to protect their privacy.

3. Publication of the List of Eligible Voters: Sunday April 23, 2023. 

• Election Commission and/or the current Executive Committee shall publish a comprehensive list of eligible voters by BAGKC Email List, BAGKC Election Website to help the members check and update/renew their membership/eligibility to vote.

4. Withdrawal of Nomination: Saturday April 29, 2023 (by 8.00PM CST).

• Only the nominated candidates are eligible to withdraw their nomination(s). A signed request must be submitted electronically (through email) or by postal mail to the Election Commissioners.

5. Publication of the Final List of Candidates (to be printed on the Ballot Paper): Sunday April 30, 2023.

• Election Commission and/or the current Executive Committee shall publish the final list of candidates through BAGKC Email List and BAGKC Election Website.

6. 2023 Executive Committee Election Day: BAGKC Annual Meeting tentatively on Saturday May 20, 2023. Election commission will communicate with the time of the election.