[Community-Discuss] [members-discuss] Faulty result for Western Africa in AfriNIC AGMM Elections

Thu May 17 11:13:37 UTC 2018

Dear Community,

Having “none of above” on the ballot is not the issue.

The real issue is about the candidate with the highest number of votes .

And this is what section 9.2 says:

*
Elections will be closed as soon as the last member or proxy present in the
meeting room casts his/her vote. Candidates with the highest number of
votes in each category will be declared winners.

*

2018-05-17 9:08 GMT+00:00 Mark Elkins <mje at posix.co.za>:

> I disagree with your first paragraph. I was a Board Member when "None of
> the Above" was introduced. I was also often on NomCom. The simple idea
> behind "None of the Above" is simply that - None of the above - that's
> everyone (natural persons) listed on that ballot. It's not just for the
> case where there is only one name on the ballot.
>
> On 17/05/2018 06:57, Andrew Alston wrote:
>
> I concur with what Owen has said,
>
>
>
> While I do not dispute the none of the above option may have been
> incorrectly on the ballot – it was there – and electronic voting was open
> for a period of 2 odd weeks before the AGMM, and during the AGMM, and this
> point was never raised.  As a result, people chose an option that was on
> the ballot – had it not been there, they may have chosen the other
> candidate, and as such, that could change the result of the entire election
> for that seat.   Therefore, it would be entirely inappropriate to choose
> the next highest candidate – and would disenfranchise the 80 odd people who
> were under the impression they were voting for an entirely legitimate
> option.
>
>
>
> As such, if we wish to dispute the result of the election a full week
> after it has happened, and despite two weeks of time to dispute it when we
> were all fully aware of what was on the ballot, the only option is to
> nullify the election for that seat and hold it again at the next AGMM –
> which leaves us back at the status quo.
>
>
>
> I do think this may be a good time to make certain observations to this
> community so that we can start a discussion about the process moving
> forward.
>
>
>
>    1. We cannot elect directors at an SGMM – section 13.4 of the bylaws
>    makes explicit reference to the Annual General Members Meeting, and this is
>    further enforced by the fact that the Annual General Members Meeting term
>    that is used is explicitly defined in the definitions.
>    2. We are not quorate for an AGMM – Section 12.10.ii is explicit in
>    setting the quorum and makes reference to “directors *elected to
>    represent a region*” – as such, an AGMM to elect directors cannot
>    happen – and this precludes using directors appointed under clause 13.14 to
>    meet the quorum requirements (they are not elected directors, they are
>    appointed directors, those are entirely different things)
>    3. AFRINIC therefore is required to pass a special resolution at an
>    SGMM via super-majority vote to amend the bylaws to allow for election of
>    directors outside of an AGMM.
>    4. There is an alternative to option C in the fact that a special
>    resolution could be passed without an SGMM occurring – however – this would
>    require 75% of the **entire** member base to vote in favour (not 75%
>    of voting members), effectively meaning you would require roughly 1130
>    votes in favour to do this – which I hardly think is practical.
>
>
>
> The question therefore becomes – what special resolution would members be
> prepared to vote in favour of – because a special resolution **has** to
> happen to get us quorate again – and failing that – AFRINIC will not be
> able to hold an AGMM – and will not be able to meet its statutory
> requirements come next year.  I also point out that thanks to clause 7.7 of
> the bylaws – the board itself **cannot** adjust the bylaws any longer in
> unilateral form.
>
>
>
> Andrew
>
>
>
> *From:* Owen DeLong [mailto:owen at delong.com <owen at delong.com>]
> *Sent:* 17 May 2018 04:27
> *To:* Omo Oaiya <Omo.Oaiya at wacren.net> <Omo.Oaiya at wacren.net>
> *Cc:* community-discuss <community-discuss at afrinic.net>
> <community-discuss at afrinic.net>; AfriNIC Discuss
> <members-discuss at afrinic.net> <members-discuss at afrinic.net>
> *Subject:* Re: [Community-Discuss] Faulty result for Western Africa in
> AfriNIC AGMM Elections
>
>
>
> I would argue that even if none of the above were incorrectly on the
> ballot, in such a case the election should be declared invalid in its
> entirety and rerun. The votes for none of the above are greater than the
> difference between the other two candidates and to act as you suggest would
> be to disenfranchise all of those voters.
>
>
>
> Owen
>
>
>
>
> On May 16, 2018, at 10:24, Omo Oaiya <Omo.Oaiya at wacren.net> wrote:
>
> Greetings All,
>
>
>
> I am looking at the BoD election process and it seems to me that the
> recent e-mail from the Board Chair seeking nominations for vacant seats
> should not be extended to Western Africa.
>
>
>
> The particular clause I am referring to is in 9.2 -
> https://afrinic.net/en/community/elections/bod-election/process
>
>
>    -
>    Elections will be closed as soon as the last member or proxy present
>    in the meeting room casts his/her vote. Candidates with the highest number
>    of votes in each category will be declared winners
>
> I see from the list for West Africa that the candidate with the highest
> number of votes should have been declared winner and this is Dr Ousmane
> Tessa.  (btw, Dr Adewale Adedokun needs his name spelt correctly)
>
>
>
>
> *Western Africa - Seat 2*
>
> Dr Adelawe Abedekon - 43
>
> Dr Ousmane Moussa Tessa - 56
>
> None of the above - 78
>
> *Result: The seat is vacant*
>
>
>
>
>
> The results from the other regions are valid and supported by the
> following clause as they had one candidate.
>
>
>    - All open positions shall be subject to an election process even if
>       there is only one candidate. In that event, if the option [none of the
>       above] got more votes than the only candidate, then the seat shall be
>       considered vacant and the Board will be requested to apply provisions of
>       the Bylaws to temporarily fill the vacant seat.
>
>
>
> Can AfriNIC and the nomcom please clarify?   We should not deprive Dr
> Tessa of a rightful win …. especially in the circumstances we find
> ourselves.
>
>
>
> Omo
>
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>
> --
> Mark James ELKINS  -  Posix Systems - (South) Africamje at posix.co.za       Tel: +27.128070590  Cell: +27.826010496
> For fast, reliable, low cost Internet in ZA: https://ftth.posix.co.za
>
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