Call for Nominations 

Asia-Pacific Regional Vice Chair 2025-2027

We are pleased to call for nominations of candidates for the position of 2025-2027 Regional Vice Chair (RVC) for Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The election for this position will be held on June 8, 2025 as part of the Democrats Abroad Annual Global Meeting. This is an online meeting.

Two votes are allocated to each DA Country Committee in APAC and will be cast by Country Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs.

Key Information:

• Responsibilities of RVCs
• Requirements to Serve as the APAC RVC
• Submission of Nominations
• Important Dates

Democrats Abroad has 3 RVCs, one for each of its 3 regions.

As defined in the Democrats Abroad Charter Rev August 2021:

Section 6.3 (Duties of Regional Vice Chairs) The Regional Vice Chairs shall, under the direction of the International Chair, promote cooperation among the Country Committees in the respective Regions and implement any Regional programs or plans adopted by the Regional Committees, provided such programs or plans have been approved by the International Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee.

Section 6.4 (Regional Meetings and Communication) Members of Democrats Abroad residing in a Region may meet by appropriate means of communication to consider matters relating to that Region. The Regional Vice Chair shall preside over such Regional meetings. In the absence of the Regional Vice Chair, the members of Democrats Abroad in attendance at the meeting shall elect a Presiding Officer pro-tem. The rules applicable to such meetings shall be the same as those applicable to DPCA meetings. To the extent feasible, Regional meetings shall be held in those countries that so request. A prompt report of each meeting shall be made to the DPCA by the Secretary pro-tem of the meeting.

Key Responsibilities:

• Serve as one of eight members of the International Executive Committee of the Democrats Abroad (International ExCom), with virtual meetings held by conference call nearly every week (up to 2 hours). The schedule for these calls is rotated so that all 3 global regions can participate.

• Serve a two-year term, but not more than two consecutive terms. Section 6.2 (a)

• Organize and lead monthly regional calls (avg 1.5 hours) to encourage, inform, and create community amongst regional Country Committee and Non-Country Committee leaders. These calls are generally held on the second Sunday of each month.

• Organize and lead in-person/virtual/hybrid 2-3 day regional meeting, every year or two. RVC responsibilities for this event include, but are not limited to: creating an agenda; organizing leaders to fulfill it. For an in-person/hybrid meeting, RVC works with the local country leaders who host the gathering to organize accommodation, conference space, entertainment, etc.; and leading the event. Please note that travel costs are the responsibility of the RVC.

• Assist in organizing the yearly DA International Meeting.

• Work with existing Country Committees (CCs) to mediate and resolve issues within their committees, including election issues, membership queries, etc.

• Track compliance status of CCs with Charter requirements and work with in-formation and out-of-compliance committees to help bring them into compliance.

• Communicate ExCom decisions, policies, and DA best practices to regional CC leaders.

• Bring regional issues to the International ExCom for discussion and resolution.

• Help groups of DA members in countries without a CC to contribute to DA's mission, ranging from short-term GOTV efforts to long-term precincts for areas without a population or resources sufficient to sustain a CC.

• Shall work with the NCC (non-Country Committee) Voting Representative to encourage member organizing and growth in countries without a CC in the Region.

• Represent the views of DA members without CCs in the APAC region at various levels of decision-making.

• Recruit and manage volunteers -- typically called Deputy RVCs -- sufficient to fulfill all these duties and serve the needs of the region.

The requirements to serve as APAC RVC are:

• Be a citizen of the United States.

• Be a member of Democrats Abroad for at least 6 months prior to the election, i.e., joined before December 8, 2024.

• Be a resident in the APAC Region.

• Adhere to the principles of the Democratic Party of the United States.

• Additionally, experience serving on a country committee, global caucus committee, or other equivalent leadership experience within DA is encouraged but not required. We particularly encourage candidates from historically underrepresented backgrounds to stand for office.

• Both self nominations and nominations of others are welcome. 

Submission of Nominations:

Please submit nominations no later than Friday, May 16th at 11:59:59 PM (Kabul UTC +4:30).

Please send an email announcing your candidacy, and include a short Candidate Statement, to the NEC at [email protected]

The Candidate Statement should include the following: 

• Your name, contact details

• Why are you running?

• What do you see as the critical challenges for DA in the Asia Pacific? 

• What issues important to DA members in AP might you choose to focus on if elected? 

The Candidate name, contact details, candidate statement will be posted on the DA website.

Important Dates:

• Friday, May 16 –  Last date to submit candidate nominations. Link
• Tuesday, May 20 – NEC will announce approved candidates.
• Tuesday, May 20 – Candidate list published on DA Website.
• Tuesday, May 20 – Candidate profiles published on DA Website.
• Saturday, May 24 – Meet the Candidate forum.
• June 1 to June 7  –  Online election using electronic ballot.
• Sunday, June 8 – APAC Regional Meeting (online), NEC publishes the APAC RVC election results. Link
• June 6, 7, 8 – Global AGM and Elections. 

Please direct any questions to [email protected]

On behalf of the 2025 APAC RVC Nominations & Elections Committee (NEC),

Adnan Ahmed (DA New Zealand), 

Erika Victor (DA Cambodia, nonCC), 

Rohan Sarma (DA Lion City), 

Tara Hardiman (DA Australia), 

Tim Berge (DA Taiwan)