The General Osteopathic Council (Election of Members and Chairman of Council) Rules Order of Council 2001

Elimination of candidates

17.—(a) If at the end of any count no candidate has a surplus and one or more vacancies remain unfilled, the Returning Officer shall eliminate from the pool the candidate credited with the lowest number of votes, shall examine all the voting forms containing votes for that candidate, shall sort the transferable votes into sub-sets according to the next available preferences recorded thereon for remaining candidates, shall transfer each sub-set to the candidate for whom that preference is recorded, taking into account any differing values of the votes thus transferred, and shall make a separate sub-set of the non-transferable votes.

(b) If the total of the votes of the two or more candidates lowest on the poll is less than the number of votes credited to the next highest candidate the Returning Officer may at the same count eliminate those lowest candidates from the poll, and transfer their votes as provided in this rule.

(c) If, when a candidate has to be eliminated, two or more candidates have each the same number of votes and are lowest on the poll, the candidate with the lowest number of votes at the earliest count at which the candidates in question had an unequal number of votes shall be eliminated, and, where the number of votes credited to those candidates were equal at all counts, the Returning Officer shall determine by lot which shall be eliminated.