constitution states that nominations for leadership will be open from 10:00 on the first week-day in June until noon on the last week-day in June. Polls will close either after the last mail delivery on the last week-day of August, or five week-days before Autumn Conference starts, whichever is sooner. The party elects a leader and two deputy leaders, or two co-leaders and a single deputy leader. Several other executive positions were also chosen. Re-open nominations (RON) is included as a voting option. Votes are counted according to single transferable vote and alternative vote, as appropriate. Timetable On 20 May 2016, the party announced a provisional timetable for both the leadership and deputy leadership elections. Further details were announced on 27 May 2016. On 29 June 2016 it was announced that the close of nominations would be postponed from 12:00 to 22:00 on 30 June due to a technical problem. 1 June 2016 (10:00) – Nominations open 30 June 2016 (22:00) – Nominations close 1 July 2016 – Campaign period begins 24 July 2016 – Campaign period ends 25 July 2016 – One month balloting period begins 25 August 2016 – Balloting period ends 2 September 2016 – Autumn Conference begins in Birmingham; results are announced 4 September 2016 – Autumn Conference ends Campaign Leadership Caroline Lucas, who had been the party's first leader, announced that she was running on a joint ticket with the party's work and pensions spokesperson Jonathan Bartley. Bartley founded the think tank Ekklesia in 2002 and had run as a Green Party candidate since 2012. They campaigned on a platform of seeking a progressive alliance with other left-wing parties to achieve electoral reform. Matt Townsend, a party executive member, expressed concern that Lucas's early entry into the contest would lead it to become a "coronation", as did other party commentators. He said that Lucas's candidacy would mean other plausible candidates would choose not to run. The activist Simon Cross ran on a platform of increasing taxes progressively. Clive Lord was a longstanding activist who had joined the PEOPLE Party, a direct predecessor of the Green Party, in 1973. He said he was running because Andrew Cooper wasn't. He criticised proposals for a progressive alliance, noting the rejection of the idea by the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. David Malone, a documentary maker, ran on a platform of increasing the party's emphasis on economics. Martie Warin, a