The decision has been taken to postpone Mauritius Society of Authors (MASA) executive committee after the protest of several artists against the holding of such elections. The election was first scheduled to take place this Sunday 27 June at the headquarters of the organisation. According to the protesters, the organisers decided to change the venue within a week and this was too short notice for all the members concerned.
According to MASA’s bylaws, section 10.1: ‘Election of members to serve on the Board shall be made during a General Assembly which shall be fixed by the Board‘ while section 10.2 (i) says ‘All members eligible and present at the General Assembly shall be entitled to vote at any election held by the Society.’ Except that with the Covid 19 pandemic, there has not been a General Assembly for an awfully long time. Members will need to elect four representatives from three categories to represent them on the Board.
According to the Copyright Act 2017, MASA’s board must consist of a chairperson appointed by the Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, a representative from the same ministry, as well as representatives from the ministries of Finance, Industry, Information Technology and Communication, a representative from the Attorney General’s office, and the Department of Customs and Intellectual Property.
Seven other members are elected in an election to be held every four years. With only one nomination in the literary category, Noël Cyril Luximan was elected automatically. The music category, with two seats at stake, has the highest rate of participation with nine candidates.
According to MASA’s internal regulations, more than 100 members must be present to constitute a quorum for an assembly. This is not possible with the Quarantine Act still in force.
It is precisely because of the Quarantine Act that the original venue for the elections on Sunday 27 June at St Mary’s College was changed.
