Hi,
"(Is it still an option for
the Board to do this and appoint Eliane, Mike, Pascale and Ivan and then
skip next year's planned election?)"
Unfortunately, that's not how STV works. Given a different number of seats to be
filled would had produced a different quota, which would have resulted in different
surplus reallocation that may have produced different result. If this election had 8
seats, instead of 14 rounds of elimination before Rosie & Victoria meeting the quota,
Dariusz would have met quota in the first round. The system is not meant for appointing
last eliminated if subsequent vacancy opens up.
Regards,
Katie