Please note some wise words from Steve M.sent to the
OSC list.
I am afraid we are trying to square the circle on this
abstention issue.
Abstentions may occur for a lot of reasons. But if
one occurs in order to avoid a conflict of interest problem, then we cannot
treat it as a functional "no" vote -- which we do if we insist that the
denominator in calculating a voting threshold must always be the total number
of people seated in the House or council.
Let's assume that on
a motion before the council, a councillor's financial interests will
be directly benefited by defeat of the motion. The councillor
should refrain from voting on (or even from participating in the discussion
of) the motion. Let's
assume the council consists of 10 people and that a majority vote is needed
for the motion.
However, if the councillor abstains for this reason, then
if 5 vote for and 4 against, the motion fails. Abstention will have
achieved exactly the result that a conflict of interest policy should
avoid at all costs -- the action of the councillor has directly benefitted his
financial interest.
If the councillor is able to truly
abstain, so that his presence is not counted for purposes of achieving the
voting threshold, then the vote (5-4) reflects the views of the majority of
council members who were allowed (in accordance with conflict of interest
policy) to vote, and should be enough to carry the
motion.
The same scenario could play out almost no matter what is
the voting threshold required or the number of eligible
voters.
I emphasize that many abstentions will not be for
conflict reasons -- quite commonly, it will be because the
constituency/stakeholder group could not reach a position on the issue, or an
issue arises suddenly and the councillor has decided that she will not vote
absent instructions from her constituency/SG. There is
less of a problem counting the abstention for purposes of a voting threshold
in this case -- though it still may not be a good idea. But there would
need to be an exception to this general rule for situations in which an
abstention is dictated by conflict of interest rules.
Steve