RCP elections - president

The president of the RCP (PRCP) is a high-profile, authoritative representative of the professional physician community worldwide.

The president leads the senior officers of the RCP, is chair of the Council and a member of the Board of Trustees. RCP Council is confident that, through a transparent, open and well-advertised process, we will elect a fellow of outstanding calibre to lead the RCP.

Voting for PRCP is now open. Candidate election material is now openly accessible on the Civica Election Services (CES) voting platform. Eligible fellows have been emailed online voting instructions by CES (takepart@cesvotes.com). 

The election timetable can be found here.

PRCP role description

Commentary election special

This 2025 election special edition of Commentary includes interviews with each of the presidential candidates.

We have also published a PDF version of this edition, available for you to download.

Read the interviews now
Cover PRCP Election

The candidates

Presidential hustings

The eight candidates for president prepared a two-minute address to camera and participated in panel Q and A sessions – recorded on 7 March 2025. 

Watch individual candidate addresses and answers on their pages above. Alternatively, you can view the two panel Q&A recordings, in full:

The process and rules of engagement for the hustings can be found in the downloads section below: PRCP hustings 2025 – briefing for candidates.

Candidates drew lots to establish the two panels.

  • Panel one: [order as established by lots]: Mumtaz Patel, John Alcolado, Albert Ferro, Tom Solomon
  • Panel two: [order as established by lots]: Asad Rahim, Fraz Mir, Asif Qasim, Gerrard Phillips

The candidates were asked four questions, chosen by a panel of censors and the Registrar, from those submitted by the membership, the Resident Doctor Committee and the RCP Patient and Carer Network. 

The hustings were chaired by broadcast journalist Jane Deith.

Results

The result of the presidential election will be announced at College Day on 14 April 2025.

Successful candidates for the clinical vice president and councillor roles will be announces at the end of April.

The RCP extends its thanks to all fellows who have nominated others or agreed to stand for election. The process to stand requires determination and commitment, on top of the candidate’s normal day-to-day pressures as physicians and individuals. All fellows of the college are encouraged to exercise the right to vote.

Special general meeting of fellows for the election of the president/College Day 2025

This will be held on Monday 14 April 2025 as required by section 6 of the Medical Act 1860. The summons to fellows will be sent out at least 2 weeks before the special general meeting but online voting will open in mid March 2025. Fellows who physically attend the special general meeting will have an option to vote in person as required by current legislation. Full details of the procedure will be included with the voting papers, which will be emailed to fellows. 

Find out more about College Day arrangements here

As in previous elections, the presidency is an annual office as required by statute, but the RCP Council recommends to fellows that the new president is elected with the expectation that their term of office will be 4 years. The formal transfer of authority to the new president, following an induction period, will take place as soon as possible following election. The new president will serve until transfer of authority to their successor at the annual general meeting 2029.

The RCP is all about our people – our members, our staff, our volunteers and leaders. We educate, influence and collaborate to improve health and healthcare for everyone and know we can only do this by being inclusive, encouraging and celebrating diverse perspectives. That’s why welcoming and having people who represent the 21st-century medical workforce, and the diverse population of patients we serve, is so important to us.