On Mon, 21 Mar 2005 16:25:35 +1000, Anthony Towns <[email protected]> said:
> Wesley J Landaker wrote: >> I don't see anything like that in the constitution--in fact, there >> isn't even anything in there about a "Compaign Period", only about >> a perioud during which no candidates can be nominated, and a note >> that candidates *should* use this time for campaigning. > The go-to guy for constitutional interpretation is the > secretary. He's the guy who set up the website for the vote, viz: > http://www.debian.org/vote/2005/vote_001 > That site gives explicit start and end times for the campaigning > period. > I expect he'd be willing to listen to arguments for varying that > interpretation, but it's been very consistent tradition in Debian > that all the arguments are aired and finished before voting opens. While it is true that there is nothing explicit in the constitution prohibiting campaigning before or after the period mentioned when candidates are exhorted to introduce themselves and their platforms, there has always been a tacit gentleman's agreement amongst candidates in this and past elections that has the actual campaigning be restricted to the middle 3 weeks of the election process. While there are no constitutional prohibitions, I also note that the constitution does not govern everything, including conducts of candidates; and following long standing tradition has its merits. I would have thought, personally, that three weeks is long enough a period to get to know the candidates and their views, and certainly effort has been put forth to make that task as easy as it can be for individual project members, including published platforms, widely publicized open debates, long mailing list discussions. While it may be edifying to drag this process out, I would think that doing so needlessly detracts from our efforts towards putting together the best possible operating system that one can have, no? ====================================================================== 4. For three weeks after that no more candidates may be nominated; candidates should use this time for campaigning (to make their identities and positions known). ... 5. The next three weeks are the polling period during which Developers may cast their votes. Votes in leadership elections are kept secret, even after the election is finished. ====================================================================== manoj -- Howe's Law: Everyone has a scheme that will not work. Manoj Srivastava <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/> 1024D/BF24424C print 4966 F272 D093 B493 410B 924B 21BA DABB BF24 424C -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
