Presidents Proxies at AGM

[Lea Willow]

Our President has said that he intends to retire at the next AGM.
Two questions:
1) Would he be able to step down a few moths before the AGM and hand over the responsibilities to the vice president ?
2) Normally at the AGM calling, owners are asked if they want to give proxies to a nominated person or to the position of 'President'. This of course means that he can be very influential in who becomes his successor.
a) In the above circumstances (of retirement) would the retiring President have the right to vote those proxies for the person he wishes to be the new president ?
b) If he had stood aside for the last few weeks/months, would the VP take on the proxies ?
c) In other words at what stage (before, during or after the AGM) does the outgoing president relinquish those proxies ?

[Patricia]

Dear Mrs. Willow,

Please read below my replies to your questions:

1) Would he be able to step down a few months before the AGM and hand over the responsibilities to the vice president? The proxy that an owner hands to another owner in order to represent him/her at the AGM is only valid to that effect and in that sole meeting, that is, the authorization´s validity expires at the end of the meeting, it is not valid during the whole President´s mandate.
2) Normally at the AGM calling, owners are asked if they want to give proxies to a nominated person or to the position of President. This of course would mean that he could be very influential in who becomes his successor. The Proxy is personal and non-transferable. It is given to the President as person and owner and not inn his quality of President. The owner that is given a proxy, regardless of his position in the Community Board, cannot transfer the proxy to any other person. That means that the Vice President will not be able to use those proxies as they have not been handed to him, but to the President, considering his condition as owner, and not as president.
3) a) In the above circumstances (of retirement) would the retiring President have the right to vote those proxies for the person he wishes to be the new president. : Anybody can accept as many proxies as he/she wants. If an owner is given 40 proxies and due to this he gets a majority of votes that leads to the election of his preferred candidate for the Presidecy of the Community of Owners, there is no illegality to report; there is no law that invalidates his votes.
4) b) If he had stood aside for the last few weeks/months, would the VP take on the proxies? c) In other words at what stage (before, during or after the AGM) does the outgoing president relinquish those proxies ? There are exceptional cases that will require the Vice President to take on the president´s duties and represent him/her, for instance, a trip, illness, etc. The President cannot be absent without a proper reason and leave everything to the VC. If he/she wishes to retire and his/her mandate has not ended yet, he could be taken to the Courts of Justice and explain the reasons for his decision to the judge, and then the Judge would decide. However, this is not practical in theory as a court hearing usually takes longer than a President´s mandate, so the normal process is to vote a new President in an EGM at the Owners´ request.

I hope this information has been helpful.

Regards,