Democracy And The Australian Political System - amazonia.fiocruz.br

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Donald Trump might really have something to complain about if the systems to lodge and count shareholder votes at ASX companies applied to US political elections. The electoral roll could be finalised after polling day Politiical postal votes would routinely fail to arrive. Incumbent office holders could rule on the validity of votes without the presence of an independent scrutineer. More often than not, the final result would be decided by a show of hands from 1 per cent of the electorate; Democracy And The Australian Political System a meeting where the sandwiches on offer afterwards held more interest than the candidates on the ballot.

Votes can be tight. This week Computershare avoided an embarrassing "strike" on its remuneration report by just 0. In calendar year18 companies in the ASX had resolutions that came within 2. Louie Douvis. While researching the corporate proxy voting system for nAd report on Institutional Proxy Voting in Australia in we observed many flaws.

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While only a handful of proxy votes did not arrive at their destination, any vote that goes missing is one too many. Given the lack of formal checks and balances, it is amazing that the system works as well as it does.

Australian investors are blessed with the right to hold listed companies to account through a shareholder vote. Votes are also valuable in the context of corporate transactions. Already the vote in both cases is shaping up as being close with the substantial minority interests declaring their opposition.

Market practices have undoubtedly improved with better communication between the custodians and share registries reducing the capacity for error. Higher volumes of votes are submitted electronically, but paper and faxes still remain an entrenched part of the system.

Democrats left to sift through aftermath of ‘blue wave’ that never crested

For institutional investors who are trading daily, shifting positions late in the process can result in inaccurate vote instructions and vote rejections. Investors are unaware if the proxies they send off are actually processed because there is no formal audit trail or confirmation protocol in place.

This can be reversed by compelling companies to make an electronic acknowledgement of what has been processed or rejected and announcing the results to market. Right now, the temporary measures introduced for virtual meetings means that polls are routinely conducted on all resolutions.]