The comments contain a couple different theories as to how the 7 day period to trigger a Board election should be calculated, none of which refers to the actual language in the Bylaws for vacating and filling positions, which is as follows:

"Any Director may vacate their position by notifying the Board in writing of their intention to do so.

Any vacancy may be filled by a successor chosen by a majority of the remaining Directors..."


So it is the bylaws which state different rules for vacating a position versus filling a vacant position. In particular, there is no requirement that a successor has to indicate that they accept their appointment, in writing or otherwise, in order for a vacant position to be filled. The only requirement is that the successor be "chosen" by a majority of the remaining Directors within 7 days.

I am not opposed to having elections and was one of the three people who agreed that the initial Board of Directors should be decided according to election results. My concern was that failing to follow the Bylaws would jeopardize the Foundation.

Another concern that hasn't been addressed is that, if the current Board is not valid, and it executes some contract, then the contract would be invalid and then there is a worse problem of correcting the invalid contract. Or the contract can't be executed until the election is over, which is a bad delay. The bylaws also state that the Board elections should start immediately if there are less than 3 filled Board positions for more than 7 days. They weren't immediately started and I have heard suggestions of intentionally delaying the election to coincide with the Maemo Community Council election. And there is also not a Hildon Foundation Council that has set the membership and election rules for the Foundation (even though if it was the responsibility of the Board, it is still the current circumstance). So pursuing Board elections seems inappropriate.

I have considered the alternative of having an Executive Director or other person handle the Foundation's day-to-day business affairs. If a broad consensus can be reached by the community on such a person, then that may be a preferable solution.