To quote John Wickham's announcement on the website:
Direct Members of the Federation, Journalists, Members of the Board and of the ECF Selection Committees are entitled to vote for this prestigious title. In making your decision you should take into account exceptional performances; overall good results; quality of chess played; sportsmanship; how players represent chess to the wider public; and any other aspect you consider important.
Correspondence players may be considered as well as over-the-board players. The period under consideration is May 2010 to April 2011