[Electionprocess-comment] Re: [AfriNIC-rpd] Call for Comments

[SM]

Section A of Election-process-draft.pdf mentions that:

   "3 volunteers selected from the community"

Does community means anyone or AfriNIC members only?

Who selects the volunteers and how are they selected?

In Section B:

   "Once the date of the first Public Policy Meeting of the year has been
    determined, the process to appoint the NomCom is initiated using the
    following timeline:"

Is this new?  I don't recall seeing a call for volunteers for NomCom before.

   "Appointment and publication of NomCom"

Can it be made explicit that the names are to be published on the RPD 
mailing list?

It is stated that:

   Elections under NomCom's supervision are usually for open Board seats,
   PDP-WG chair(s) and NRO-NC representatives."

I don't see anything about the NRO-NC election in the two drafts.  Is 
the choice made by AfriNIC members only or by anyone?  If it is by 
anyone, it is not mentioned in any draft.

Is the PDWG_Election_Process.pdf draft part of the Policy Development Process?

The Election time line is structured in such a way that it is bound 
to cause problems in future.  It comes out as a system to elect a 
president rather than one where the community can find a volunteer to 
chair the PDWG.  Section 6 of Election Guidelines mentions that:

   "The NomCom shall review all completed nominations to verify that the
    nomination process is followed and shall review the nominations to
    determine that all nominees meet the general criteria for a PDWG chair."

It is mostly administrative than anything else as the criteria are 
straight-forward.  The election process tends to produce the number 
of candidates to match the seats available.  It was mentioned during 
the last meeting that it is up to NomCom to find suitable 
candidates.  Elections are generally held once a year during which 
there are two meetings.  I suggest modifying the election time line as follows:

   Call for candidates   - one month before the second meeting of the year
   Announcement of slate - on the first day of the second meeting of the year
   Comment period        - as from the first day of the second 
meeting of the year

It is left to NomCom to issue one or more calls for candidates to 
fulfill the objective of having an adequate pool of candidates for 
voters to choose from.

   Election - on the first day of the first meeting of the year
   Results  - at least one hour after the elections and before
              the second day of the first meeting of the year

Candidate eligibility:

   - Be a natural person residing in a country from the AfriNIC service region

   - Has participated in the PDWG within a year of the candidacy

During a past meeting, the two candidates did not attend the 
meeting.  Only one of the candidates participated remotely in case 
there were any questions from the community.  At the last meeting, 
the candidate did not attend the meeting.  The candidate did not 
participate remotely.

Does the candidate have to attend the meeting in person or remotely 
so that he/she is available to respond to comments?

in Section 7.0:

   "All candidates shall be given the opportunity to present themselves
    to the community in a brief speech during the face-to-face meeting.
    The community may also direct questions to the candidate during the
    open comment period. These questions must be addressed to the NomCom
    and discussed on the appropriate mailing list."

I suggest specifying RPD mailing list instead of "the appropriate 
mailing list".

In most countries candidates are not allowed to make speeches before 
an election.  I suggest giving the opportunity to the community to 
direct questions to the candidates before the election and giving 
candidates the opportunity to respond to the questions.  Section 7.0 
should be completely revised as it does not take into account the 
views expressed by a lot of individuals from the community.

Section 8.0 mentions that voting can be held by a show of 
hands.  That alternative should be removed as in an election everyone 
does not see for whom everyone else is voting for.

Section 8.0 mentions that proxy voting shall not be allowed.  Is 
there a reason for this?

Section 9.0 only allows volunteers from other RIRs to count the 
votes.  I suggest allowing each candidate to appoint one 
representative to supervise the election process.  The representative 
can only cast one vote if he/she fulfills the voting 
requirements.  Any person having an active role in the election 
process is not be eligible to cast a vote.

I suggest having the CEO in an oversight role instead of an active 
role in the vote counting.  The Legal Counsel should not have an 
active role in the vote counting.  The Legal Counsel can be asked for 
legal advice if there is a problem.

The were election disputes during the last meeting.  I suggest that 
the PDWG_Election_Process.pdf draft takes such events into account.

   "The Chair of the NomCom shall announce the election results after the
    vote count with the vote detail for only the elected candidates."

I suggest announcing a detailed vote count, including ballots which 
were invalid.

Why is there a requirement to send election results to africann at afrinic.net?

Regards,
-sm