The RAS revealed the details of the procedure for electing a new president of the Academy

Academician Vladimir Starodubov, appointed Chairman of the General Meeting, spoke about how the event will be held

Next week, Moscow will hold elections for the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences. All the details of the procedure, which will last from September 19 to 22, were revealed by the Chairman of the General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Vladimir Starodubov. He announced the sequence of events at the Wednesday meeting of the Medical Department of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

So, on September 19, the General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Leninsky Prospekt, 32 will open at 10 am with an introductory speech by the current President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeev, after which the Chief Scientific Secretary of the Academy will report on the work of the Presidium for the period from 2017 to 2022. Then a number of technical issues will be resolved (for example, members of the counting commission will be elected).

In the second half of the day, speeches of three candidates for the presidency of the Russian Academy of Sciences agreed with the government will begin: Gennady Krasnikov, Dmitry Markovich and Alexander Sergeev. They will present their programs for approximately 20 minutes, and then there will be time for answering questions from members of the Academy (no more than 10 minutes).

Following each of the candidates, five supporters will speak (each will speak for no more than 5 minutes), and then the traditional acceptance of notes from the audience addressed to the candidates will begin. 2-3 minutes are allotted for answers.

On September 20, starting at 9.30 am, 2,000 ballots will be waiting for voters. It will be held in the old fashioned way: on the ballot it will be necessary to put a cross (or tick) in front of your chosen one and put the sheet in the voting box. Two hours have been allotted for this important event. That is, by 11.30 all must cast their votes for one or another candidate.

For the next two hours, everyone will be waiting until the counting commission sums up the results of the first round of voting. If one of the three candidates at once gains the required number of votes (50% plus 1 vote of those present), the elections will be recognized as completed, and the Academy will receive a new president. If it doesn’t win, two of the three candidates with the most votes will advance to the second round. There, in order to win, one of the two will again need to collect more than 50% of the votes. But if this does not happen, then the one who gets just the most votes will go to the third round, during which the Academy will again need 50% plus 1 vote. In case of refusal of academicians and corresponding members to support the remaining candidate with the proper number of votes, according to the Law on the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Academy issues a verdict: “The President of the Russian Academy of Sciences has not been elected” and gives the right to appoint its head to the government of the country.

On the third day of the General Meeting, September 21, the Branches of the Russian Academy of Sciences will elect new leaders (Academician-Secretaries) and nominate their representatives to the positions of Vice-Presidents of the Academy according to the quota. The elected (or appointed) president also has the right to nominate his own candidates for the positions of vice presidents. All proposed surnames are transferred to the secretariat of the Academy, which puts them on the ballots for voting by all members of the Academy.

On the fourth day, September 22, the RAS president-elect presents to the assembly his new team of vice-presidents, as well as deputies, advisers, and members of the Presidium.