1. General Provisions
1.1. The Tallinn University of Technology (hereinafter: TalTech) Student Parliament Election Rules (hereinafter: Rules) regulate the conduct of the Student Parliament (hereinafter: Parliament) elections, the nomination of candidates, the determination of election results, and the implementation of election outcomes.
1.2. In these Rules, the Student Parliament is regarded as the student representation body in the meaning of the Higher Education Act. Election procedure:
1.2.1. Regular elections of the members of the Parliament are announced by the Parliament and carried out by the Student Union.
1.2.2. At the annual Parliament elections, a new composition of the Parliament is elected. In extraordinary elections of the Parliament, all members of the Parliament are re-elected.
1.3. In these Rules, the Parliament coordinator is regarded as a member of the Student Union whose field of activity includes coordinating the Parliament elections.
2. Candidate
2.1. Any TalTech student enrolled in degree studies at the beginning of the voting period (except the Parliament coordinator, the Board, and the Audit Committee) may run for the Parliament, provided they are nominated in accordance with these Rules (hereinafter: candidate).
3. Electoral Districts
3.1. Elections of the members of the Parliament take place in electoral districts.
3.2. An electoral district is a school or a structural unit equivalent to a school, as listed in Annex 1.
3.3. Each electoral district has at least one seat (mandate) in the Parliament.
4. Composition, Duties, Competence, and Working Arrangements of the Election Administrators
4.1. The persons conducting the elections are:
4.1.1. in the case of regular elections, the Parliament coordinator, the Board member responsible for education, and the members of the Student Body Audit Committee;
4.1.2. in the case of extraordinary elections, three to five persons appointed by a directive of the Rector.
4.2. The persons conducting the elections:
4.2.1. are responsible for the lawful and effective conduct of the Parliament elections;
4.2.2. act with strict impartiality and avoid conflicts of interest;
4.2.3. ensure the secrecy of the vote.
4.3. The duties of the Parliament coordinator are:
4.3.1. preparing the materials necessary for conducting the Parliament elections;
4.3.2. publishing the Parliament election procedure on the Student Union website;
4.3.3. receiving the applications of students running for the Parliament, verifying the correctness of data, and registering the candidates;
4.3.4. recording the progress of the Parliament elections, summarising and publishing the voting results, and submitting them to the Rector for approval;
4.3.5. providing explanations to voters regarding election-related questions upon request;
4.3.6. preparing candidate presentation materials, which must be uniform for all candidates and accessible to anyone interested.
4.4. The duties of the Audit Committee members are:
4.4.1. supervising the conduct of the Parliament elections;
4.4.2. handling complaints related to candidates who violate the Election Rules.
4.5. The duties of the Board member responsible for education are:
4.5.1. coordinating the work of the Parliament coordinator;
4.5.2. extending the candidacy period in the case described in point 6.2.;
4.5.3. submitting a proposal to the Parliament to declare the elections unsuccessful.
4.6. The competence of the Parliament includes:
4.7. approving the election schedule.
5. Announcement of Elections
5.1. Regular Parliament elections are announced by the Parliament.
5.2. The elections of the Parliament must be announced at least one month in advance through the Student Body information channels.
5.2.1. The Parliament elections begin with the start of the candidacy period.
5.3. Extraordinary Parliament elections are announced to students by the Rector at least 10 working days in advance.
6. Number of Members Elected to the Student Parliament and Special Cases
6.1. Each school or structural unit equivalent to a school (listed in Annex 1) has one Parliament mandate. The remaining 10 mandates are allocated according to the formula provided in Annex 2.
6.2. If, by the deadline for submitting candidacy applications, fewer applications have been registered than the number of mandates calculated based on Annex 2 for each electoral district, the Board member responsible for education shall extend the deadline for submitting candidacy applications by no more than 10 working days (additional deadline) and shall inform the student body thereof.
6.3. If by the additional deadline the required number of candidacy applications has not been submitted, the Parliament shall declare the elections unsuccessful and shall propose to the Rector to announce extraordinary elections.
7. Procedure for Candidacy for the Student Parliament
7.1. The materials required for submitting candidacies must be available on the Student Union website, at the Student Union office, and at other locations designated by the Student Union from the day the elections are announced.
7.2. A candidacy for the Student Parliament may be submitted only personally. A candidate is submitted and registered according to the electoral district.
7.3. Each TalTech student may run only in the electoral district to which they belong. If a student is enrolled in multiple electoral districts, they must choose one of them.
7.4. TalTech’s Academic Affairs Office is responsible for forming the list of voters. The Academic Affairs Office must submit the size of electoral districts and the student body to the Parliament coordinator no later than three working days before the start of the candidacy period.
7.5. A voter is a TalTech student enrolled in degree studies.
7.6. To submit a candidacy, a student must present the following to the Student Union during the candidacy period: a written application, a motivation letter, a confirmation of enrolment in degree studies issued by the dean’s office or the Estonian Education Information System, and a digital photograph.
7.7. The form of the candidacy application is approved by the Parliament. The application must include at least the following data:
7.7.1. the student’s first and last name, date of birth, matriculation number, name of the electoral district, and study group designation;
7.7.2. the student’s contact information: telephone number and email address.
7.8. By submitting a candidacy application, the candidate grants the election administrators the right to process their personal data and to present the motivation letter and personal data unchanged to voters. Other candidacy materials are confidential and may be accessed only by the persons conducting the elections and the Student Union secretary-assistant.
7.9. The Parliament coordinator and/or the Audit Committee shall verify all applications and have the right to submit relevant inquiries to candidates.
7.10. An application that meets the requirements of these Rules is registered and numbered according to the order of submission. The Parliament coordinator is obliged to inform the student in a form that allows written reproduction within two working days if the candidacy materials do not comply with the requirements of these Rules.
7.11. For documents submitted by email, the moment the materials reach the email server is considered the time of receipt.
7.12. The Parliament coordinator shall send a confirmation letter to the student who submitted the candidacy materials within two working days from the submission of the application. The confirmation letter shall indicate the time of receipt and the name of the recipient.
7.13. The deadline for bringing non-compliant candidacy materials into compliance with the requirements is two working days from the notification of non-compliance.
7.14. A candidate has the right to withdraw their candidacy at any time. If a candidate withdraws during the voting period, the public must be informed through the Student Union information channels.
8. Conduct of the Student Parliament Elections
8.1. The Student Parliament elections are conducted exclusively electronically via the ElectionBuddy system. If access to the ElectionBuddy system is unavailable or restricted during the voting period, the Student Union is obliged to organise paper elections pursuant to the procedure set out in Annex 3.
8.2. Regular Student Parliament elections are held annually during the month of March.
8.3. Voters may vote within a period of 14–30 calendar days. The deadlines related to the conduct of extraordinary elections are determined by the authority announcing the elections. The schedule is published on the official website of the Student Union.
8.4. The Information Technology Office is responsible for the functioning of electronic elections. The right to enter candidate lists lies with the Student Parliament coordinator until the start of the voting period.
8.5. Upon entering the voting environment, the voter verifies their identity.
8.6. Each voter has one vote. If a voter is registered in more than one electoral district, they must inform the Student Parliament coordinator in writing of the district in which they wish to vote no later than three working days before the start of the voting period. If the voter has not provided this information, the Student Parliament coordinator assigns the electoral district in which the voter may vote.
8.7. No complaint may be submitted against the decision of the Student Parliament coordinator referred to in the previous point.
8.8. In the voting portal, the voter marks the field “For” next to the name of the candidate for whom they cast their vote.
8.9. If the voter does not find a suitable candidate, they shall mark the corresponding field “Did not find a suitable candidate” in the voting portal.
8.10. Each voter receives one ElectionBuddy ballot, and a submitted ballot cannot be changed.
8.11. The voter has the right to request information regarding the elections and explanations concerning the voting procedure from the Student Parliament coordinator. The coordinator must respond to all inquiries, regardless of their content, within five working days.
8.12. The university and student body institutions are obliged to assist the Student Parliament coordinator in their work and to provide the data and materials necessary for the task. Upon a request from the coordinator, they must respond within five working days from receipt.
8.13. The Student Union is accountable to the Student Parliament and to the Rector. The Student Union shall inform voters of its most important decisions on the official website of the Student Union.
9. Violations and Objections
9.1. Election campaigning in Student Parliament elections is permitted. Election campaigning must comply with good conduct and academic custom. Promising material benefits or associating such benefits with voting is prohibited.
9.2. For violations of the requirements of these Rules, the election administrators may, considering the severity of the violation, any previous violations by the candidate, and other relevant
circumstances, impose sanctions. The candidate allegedly responsible for the violation must be required to provide an explanation.
9.3. The following sanctions may be imposed on a candidate:
9.3.1. a written reprimand;
9.3.2. removal of the candidate from the list of candidates;
9.3.3. in the case of a second reprimand, the person shall be removed from the list of candidates.
9.4. A person removed from the list of candidates is deleted immediately, and votes cast for them are not counted when determining the election results.
9.5. The Student Parliament coordinator shall notify the removed candidate immediately of the removal and publish the corresponding notice on the official website of the Student Union.
9.6. Violations of these Rules committed by candidates or other persons must be reported to the Audit Committee.
9.7. Complaints regarding candidate registration must be submitted to the Audit Committee within three working days after the end of the registration period.
9.8. If, during the investigation of the factual circumstances stated in the complaint, it is proven that the requirements of the election rules were significantly violated, the election results and the new Parliament composition shall not be confirmed. By decision of the Rector, a re-vote shall be organised in all or only those electoral districts where the violation occurred or affected the election results. In such case, the elections are carried out by the Student Parliament, which establishes a new election period and informs students accordingly.
9.9. A violation of these Rules is deemed significant if it is proven that, as a result of the violation, the election results do not reflect reality and the violation was intentional.
9.10. After the publication of the election results, every TalTech student has the right to submit a written, reasoned complaint regarding the elections to the Audit Committee within three working days. Complaints submitted later do not result in the annulment of the election results.
9.11. The Audit Committee shall review the complaint within three working days from its receipt.
9.12. Complaints regarding violations of the election procedure may be submitted until the end of the election period. Complaints submitted after this deadline shall be reviewed by the Audit Committee only if earlier submission was impossible and the objection was submitted immediately after becoming aware of the issue, but no later than three working days after the announcement of the election results.
9.13. The decision of the Audit Committee may be appealed by the affected person to the Rector. The Rector may refer the matter back to the Audit Committee for reconsideration or resolve the complaint independently. The Rector shall decide upon the complaint within five working days from its receipt.
10. Determination of Student Parliament Election Results
10.1. The Student Parliament coordinator shall establish the election results no later than three working days after the end of the voting period.
10.2. Votes are counted by electoral district.
10.3. The ElectionBuddy administrator submits the voting results to the Student Parliament coordinator within three working days from the end of the vote. Based on the results received, the coordinator compiles the ranking list of candidates in each electoral district in descending order.
10.4. A candidate is elected to the Student Parliament according to their position in the ranking list of their electoral district and the number of mandates allocated to that district (Annex 2).
10.5. nA general ranking list is formed based on the number of votes received by each candidate. The general ranking list includes the total number of votes per candidate. The relative ranking list is formed in accordance with Annex 2.
10.6. If the number of candidates in an electoral district is smaller than the number of mandates allocated to that district, substitute members for that district shall be determined on the basis of the general ranking list that includes all electoral districts.
10.7. If candidates in the general ranking list have received an equal number of votes, the candidate with the higher relative coefficient shall be preferred. If, under point 10.8, candidates still receive an equal number of votes, lots shall be drawn to determine their order.
10.8. If several candidates in an electoral district receive an equal number of votes, lots shall be drawn to determine their order in the ranking list.
10.9. The election results of the Student Parliament shall be recorded in a protocol. The protocol shall include any statements and complaints submitted to the Audit Committee and/or the Student Parliament coordinator by that time regarding violations of the Election Rules, as well as decisions made on such matters. The protocol shall be signed by the chair of the Audit Committee and the Student Parliament coordinator; digital signatures are accepted.
10.10. The Student Parliament election protocol, together with all election documentation, shall be archived in accordance with the rules in force at the university. The Student Union board is responsible for the preservation of the documents.
10.11. The Student Parliament coordinator shall submit the election results to the Rector for approval no later than two working days after the protocol has been signed.
11. Implementation of Election Results
11.1. The Rector shall approve the election results and the new composition of the Student Parliament if the elections have been conducted lawfully and no significant violations of these Rules have occurred.
11.2. The election results shall be published in the Student Union information channels at the earliest opportunity, but no later than 20 calendar days after approval by the Rector.
11.3. Every member of the university community has the right to consult the election results (general and relative ranking lists) at the Student Union office.
12. Implementing Provisions
12.1. These Rules shall enter into force upon their adoption by the Student Parliament.
12.2. Upon entry into force of these Rules, the Election Rules approved on 10 October 2023 shall be repealed.
ANNEX 1
The electoral districts are:
1) School of Information Technologies;
2) School of Engineering;
3) School of Science;
4) School of Business and Governance;
5) Estonian Maritime Academy.
ANNEX 2
Each faculty or faculty-equivalent structural unit (listed in Annex 1) shall receive one mandate in the Student Parliament. The remaining 10 mandates are allocated according to the following formula:
𝐾 = 10 ∗ 𝑇 / 𝑌,
where
K – the number of additional mandates allocated to the electoral district, rounded to the nearest whole number;
T – the number of students in the respective electoral district (in the academic year concerned);
Y – the total number of students at Tallinn University of Technology (in the academic year concerned).
If rounding results in a tie between two whole numbers for multiple electoral districts, the additional mandate shall be allocated, in priority order, to the district with the smaller number of students.
The general ranking list is formed according to the total number of votes received by candidates.
The relative ranking list is formed as follows:
𝑈 = 𝐻 / 𝑇
where
H – the number of votes received;
T – the number of students in the respective electoral district (in the academic year concerned).
ANNEX 3
1. Procedure for Conducting Paper Elections
1.1. The persons conducting the elections are the Student Parliament coordinator, the Board member responsible for education, the members of the Student Body audit committee, and other persons designated by the Rector’s directive.
1.2. Paper elections of the Student Parliament are carried out over five working days between 09:00–16:00. Voting takes place in rooms designated by the Student Union. At least two members of the Student Union must be present at the ballot box, one of whom must be an election official; together they form the election committee.
1.3. Each voter, upon presenting an identity document or student card and after verification of their student register status and electoral district, receives a ballot paper against a signature. The ballot must be completed on-site and inserted into the ballot box.
1.4. Each voter has one vote, even if they are simultaneously listed in multiple electoral districts. The ballot is completed according to the instructions printed on it.
1.5. The voter has the right to receive information and explanations regarding the election procedure from the Student Parliament coordinator.
2. Requirements for Ballots and Ballot Boxes
2.1. Ballots must have a uniform appearance (except for colour variations) and must be stamped by the election committee. The ballot must indicate the voting dates and a space for marking one’s preference.
2.2.Presentation and stamping of blank ballots takes place in the presence of the election committee. Pre-agreed observers may also be present. Stamping is recorded in a protocol, indicating the number of stamped ballots per district and the list of persons present. Stamping must occur no later than one working day before the paper elections of the Student Parliament.
2.3. Transfer of stamped ballots and ballot boxes to and from colleges is carried out via secure courier or another secure method.
2.4. During voting breaks, the openings of the ballot boxes must be sealed, and unused ballots must be stored in restricted-access rooms. The election committee is responsible for ensuring that unauthorised persons do not gain access to election documentation.
3. Determination of the TalTech Student Parliament Election Results
3.1. The Student Parliament coordinator determines the election results no later than five working days after the end of voting.
3.2. Ballots are counted by the persons conducting the elections in a locked room. At least five election officials must be present during the counting process. An observer who is not a candidate may be present. Each candidate may authorise a representative to observe the vote count. Before opening the ballot boxes, all unused ballots are marked by cutting off one corner.
3.3. Ballots are inspected to determine their validity or invalidity.
3.4. A ballot is deemed invalid if it is not filled in or is completed in a manner that does not meet requirements. In case of dispute, the audit committee decides the validity of the ballot by simple majority. In the event of a tie, the ballot is considered invalid.
3.5. The election officials count the number of votes cast for each candidate. Based on the results, the election committee compiles a candidate ranking list for each electoral district in descending order of votes.
3.6. A candidate is elected to the Student Parliament in accordance with their position on the district ranking list and the number of mandates allocated to the district.