Convocation Election Procedure

The following is a primer on the procedure by which new members of the Convocation of Merchants are selected. This process takes place every year, with half the Aldermen seats being replaced each year.

This year, since Adrian has been chosen by his father to be the Prince's Monitor (or Prince's Overseer), he will be deeply involved in the procedure.

Requirements for Election
Since the Convocation is a mercantile association, it stands to reason that there would be property requirements for someone to be eligible for election in the first place.

Four-Meeting System
The customary selection process for the Convocation takes place over four meetings; the first is always convened just before the Great Summer Festival, while the second and third take place closely together during the middle of the fifth month. The last meeting, in turn, customarily takes place on the second of June.

First Meeting: the purpose of the first meeting is, first and foremost, to carry out the nomination process for candidates. Any member of the Convocation may speak to propose a nominee, pending the approval of the Monitor; prior submission of the nominations to the Purveyors and Monitor is a requirement, to prevent ad hoc nominations. The final product of the first meeting will be the Consideration List, on which the candidates are ranked according to the number of sponsors they have. This will have a crucial effect on the rest of the process.

Second Meeting: the second meeting is when the candidates themselves will be summoned to address the Monitor and Convocation, and promote their stand. The nominators of each candidate are allowed to also raise points in support of their preferred candidate.

Third Meeting: the third meeting is the debate meeting, when the merits of the candidates are debating by the Aldermen. This normally is a relaxed stage of the proceedings, in meetings where the nomination and selection process has mostly been smoothed out beforehand; but where there is no such agreement, this meeting can be the most fraught.

Fourth Meeting: the fourth and final meeting is when votes are cast and then counted, and the results officially announced. Again, where there is agreement, this is a relatively straightforward process; but in tense years, and especially now with the Immigrant-Localist partisanship, it can prove to be a very fraught process.