Hi,
I have started a draft of the process for the WCA election for a Chairperson at http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Chapters_Association/Elections/2012_Chairperson. This is in line with the discussion at the London meeting last weekend. The election for a Chairperson is limited to votes by Council members (as defined at the time of opening the vote) and the Chairperson needs to be a member of the Council.
I invite Council members to not only consider if they have some skill and experience to bring to the role of Chair, but also to take an selfless viewpoint, and consider if there are individuals with skills elsewhere in their Chapter that might mean that now would be a good time to quickly swap their position with someone else in their Chapter, so that the WCA benefits overall.
I strongly recommend that this is a contested election, particularly with representatives from smaller Chapters running for Chair. A key reason that I planned last year for a re-election for Chair to happen before the Milan conference, was that I was uncomfortable that my appointment without contest. In my view, this was a weak demonstration of our democratic process. If anyone has good tips for improving the process then please chip in, preferably on the meta talk page. My objective is to keep this as simple as possible to understand, and as non-bureaucratic as possible, so please try to make any suggestions with that in mind. :-)
I propose we accept self nomination statements in languages other than English, and allow others to help with good translations. I would expect to be opening for nominations on Monday 25 February 2013, unless there are significant objections (such as prospective candidates being unavailable for this coming week and needing an extension to this schedule).
Cheers, Fae