[Community-Discuss] Don't sell your Vote!

[Dewole Ajao]

Thanks for raising the matter of vote buying/selling, Mr Amin. Clearly,
some "network operations" are way more profitable than others.

To be clear, I am not in support of monetizing votes. As a resource member,
I was also cold-called and I feigned interest (even haggled terms and
pricing:-D) in order to get more details and understand the "business
model" and the players behind it.

While it is quite despicable (on the part of the desperate sponsor and on
the part of the hungry fools who help to crush the RIR by selling off their
membership rights), it doesn't break any currently established laws (much
as I wish it did). For sure it is indecent and even borders on criminal,
but we the members are the ones who can create consequences for such
behaviour by creating bylaws to deal with it.

Be that as it may, may I ask, Mr Amin, what do you think of the issues
raised by members (myself included) about the current board and nomination
committee's election and appointment processes regarding these same 2022
elections you refer to?

Regards,
Dewole.


On Tue, May 31, 2022 at 1:54 AM CTO admin <admin at megamore.ng> wrote:

> Your remarks received but I won’t be dragged to a discussion about this
> especially you and other three members, contrary to a very few, I am not a
> prepaid pawn.
>
> On Mon, May 30, 2022 at 11:35 PM Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> The election of Board members, or any elections, is a constitutional
>> right and supposed to be a democratic process, unintimidated, and
>> uninfluenced by anything, not to mention any illegal activities such as
>> malicious offers of money.
>>
>>
>> This is true… It should not be obstructed by the board making arbitrary
>> decisions about the number of seats that stand for election.
>> It should not be obstructed by the board and nominating committee
>> conspiring to prevent legitimate candidates from reaching the ballot.
>> It should not be obstructed by the nominating committee placing only one
>> candidate before the body for a given office when there is no way available
>> for the body to express a desire not to put that candidate in office.
>>
>> An election is supposed to be about choosing. When the board and the
>> nominating committee act in bad faith to prevent the orderly conduct of
>> choosing of board members in the above manner, action must be taken to hold
>> the board to account and to insist that corrective actions be taken.
>>
>> But, someone and his agents have been:
>>
>>
>> - bullying, manipulating, intimidating, and spreading false news about
>> the future of AfriNIC.
>>
>> Oh really? Wh would that be and why do you not name this offensive person?
>> Do you have any evidence of these acts to present or are you attempting
>> to bully, manipulate, or intimidate the electorate with false news and
>> false rumors?
>>
>> - contacting resource holders with offers of money, $5000-$7000-1000$,
>> and promising other future investments, in return, you must provide the right
>> to access your AfriNIC portal and cast the vote.
>>
>> Again, do you have any evidence to present to support these allegations?
>> It is difficult to give much credence to an accuser who offers neither the
>> name of the accused, nor any facts or evidence to support the allegations.
>>
>>  - give them authority to file litigations against AfriNIC, In my view,
>> on this point, is to abuse the judicial system and defame the organization.
>>
>>
>> How can one entity give another authority to file litigations unless the
>> entity in question is a lawyer retained by the first entity? You are making
>> little or no sense here.
>>
>>
>> Paying anyone to buy his right to vote is squandering and abuse of the
>> legal democratic practice of the constitution, have we asked ourselves the
>> real motive behind this and the bigger outcome on the whole region?
>>
>>
>> While I am unaware of any efforts to purchase votes, I would point out
>> that there is nothing in the organizations constitution regarding such
>> possibilities other than the specific provisions that allow for proxies.
>> There is nothing in the bylaws (constitution) which prohibits the purchase
>> of proxies. IMHO, such an act would certainly be immoral, unethical, and
>> corrupt, but in terms of the “legal democratic practice of the
>> constitution”, I suggest that you read same prior to making such claims.
>>
>>
>> This dissipation is egregious and includible, that such entities have a
>> good cause. In fact, it demonstrates audacious practice.
>>
>>
>> Try as I might, I am unable to parse the above gibberish into any logical
>> meaning.
>>
>>  Their proposition of money=right-to-vote is an insult to us as members,
>> to our pride as Africans, to our integrity as operators, it is only those
>> without any sense of belonging who will accept a bunch of dollars for their
>> rights.
>>
>>
>> If this is true, then there are two possibilities expressed by you here:
>>
>> 1. You think that the majority of your fellow Africans cannot be trusted
>> and have no sense of belonging.
>> 2. This email should be utterly unnecessary and serves no purpose as
>> nobody is likely to be swayed in such a manner.
>>
>> So which is it? Are you writing an unnecessary rant to hear yourself
>> bloviate or are you so insulting the integrity of your fellow Africans?
>>
>> *(**Rain beats the leopard's skin but it does not wash out the spots**)*
>>
>> Yes, bribery and malicious offers made a few stands against AfriNIC as
>> the legitimate RIR for the region, making them believe that they can
>> actually sell their IPV4 to corporates outside the region at a CERTAIN
>> AMOUNT as disclosed by the Mastermind Himself,
>>
>> Again, I ask who is this individual you has sold AFRINIC addresses
>> outside of the region? Perhaps you are referring to Elad Cohen, as he is
>> the only individual I can think of who fits such a description.
>>
>> Another way of systematically abusing the system was by sponsoring
>> members to attend the Annual Members General Meeting & voice the bosses’
>> message so that negative impressions can be built against AfriNIC and
>> discredit it, its management, and its reputation.
>>
>>
>> I wasn’t aware that Mr. Cohen had a sponsorship program or a message.
>> Please do elaborate on this and present any evidence you have to support
>> such a claim.
>>
>> *(S**ticks in a bundle are unbreakable!**)*
>>
>> If we believe in our sovereignty in Africa, our region, we should stand
>> against such malpractices, and insidious attacks, and ignore such voices as
>> we cannot call the forest that shelters us a jungle.
>>
>>
>> Indeed, I fully support a call to action to right the various wrongs that
>> have been done in the AFRINIC electoral processes. Let us all make it clear
>> to the board that their malfeasance will no longer be tolerated. Let us
>> demand free and fair elections among all qualified candidates.  Let us
>> insist that all board seats that are empty be chosen by the electorate and
>> not appointed by the board or a conspiracy between the board and the
>> nominating committee. Let us bring to light all of the misdeeds of this
>> board and the staff. Let us solve all of these problems and build a
>> stronger, cleaner AFRINIC for the good of all Africans. One built on the
>> rule of law and without the corruption. One which does not attempt to make
>> up the rules as we go along without regard to what is written.
>>
>>
>> I call on all of us for ratiocination in the quagmire we have, which is
>> at its apotheosis.
>>
>>
>> I confess I had to look up ratiocination, but I agree it is the right
>> word. Let us please apply some deep thinking and resolve the quagmire that
>> is the current board.
>>
>>
>> VOTE FOR AFRINIC SOVRIENTY, VOTE AFRICA, and DON’T SELL YOUR VOTE.
>>
>>
>> Well, you are close, but not quite… Vote African sovereignty. Vote
>> Africa. Do not make or pretend that AFRINIC is the sovereign. The community
>> and the membership must be the sovereigns over AFRINIC and its board, not
>> the other way around. They are there to serve the community according to
>> the rules and procedures defined by the community and not to make arbitrary
>> and capricious rulings of their own.
>>
>> Owen
>>
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