Candidates from Italy and Switzerland were successful in last week's European Society of Radiology (ESR) annual elections. Voter turnout reached an all-time high at 16.7% of eligible members, and the plan is to increase participation across Europe and beyond in the years ahead, according to the ESR.
Prof. Carlo Catalano from Rome. Photos courtesy of ESR.For the post of ESR second vice president, who will become the ESR and ECR president in just over two years, Prof. Carlo Catalano from Rome received 2,042 votes, compared with the 1,761 votes for Prof. Deniz Akata from Ankara, Turkey, and the 1,543 votes for Prof. Andrea Rockall from London.
Prof. Minerva Becker from Geneva was elected chair of the education committee. She received 2,083 votes, while Prof. Emanuele Neri from Pisa, Italy, got 2,000 votes. Dr. José Venâncio from Lisbon came third with 1,072 votes.
The number of eligible voters was 33,327, of whom 5,555 voted. More than 88,000 ESR members who are not categorized as full members were not eligible to vote. The ESR says it does hope to further increase the number of full members in the future.
Prof. Minerva Becker from Geneva.Participation from Turkey was highest at 71% (1,264 of the 1,784 members voted) and Italy at 22.8% (888 of the 3,901 members voted). Voter turnout was lowest in France at 3.8% (190 of the 5,065 members voted) and Norway at 4% (51 of the 1,281 members voted).
According to an ESR spokesperson, "A voter turnout of nearly 16.7% is actually an all-time high. Six highly valuable candidates were willing to stand for office, to serve the society and the radiological community at large. This year's ESR elections stirred great interest, with an unmatched record of votes cast."
Depending on the vacant position, different groups are entitled to propose candidates as defined in the ESR statutes, and a call for proposals is sent out each autumn to those groups. For the education committee chair, all institutional members in good standing were entitled to propose candidates. For the second VP, all ESR full members in good standing were entitled to propose candidates. The ESR's Executive Council has the final responsibility to nominate up to three candidates for each position.
Full details about the elections are available on the ESR website.
