Campaigning for the upcoming President and Deputy President elections has been suspended.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has suspended campaigning for the upcoming President and Deputy President elections due to alleged election rule violations.
The elections were due to take place in September and candidates had already started campaigning.
No indication has been by the College as to which rules were violated but a source close to the issue suggests the concerns raised are around social media conduct.
The current president Professor Anne Marie Rafferty is running for reelection alongside several other candidates including current vice president Yvonne Coghill.
A statement from the union posted on its website reads; “The RCN strives to uphold the highest standards at all times when conducting its own elections.
“It is absolutely vital that our trade union elections meet statutory obligations. They must comply with the RCN’s own election rules as set out in the policy and process document, which is approved by RCN Council.
“Our overriding responsibility is to ensure that all the candidates in our trade union elections are able to campaign equally and fairly.
“Regretfully, complaints have been raised with us concerning the upcoming President and Deputy President elections. Evidence has been provided that confirms our rules have been breached.
“The difficult decision has therefore been taken to pause campaigning and the opening of voting in these elections.
“We will use this time to ensure all the issues reported by members and staff are addressed.
“We will be keeping the membership fully updated via the RCN website and a new timeline will be published as soon as it is confirmed.”
