[Electionprocess-comment] Comments on AFRINIC PDWG Election Process

[Douglas Onyango]

According to the AfriNIC Policy Development Process (PDP), two (2)
co-chairs shall be selected from
the community to carry out the administrative functions of the Policy
Development Working Group
(PDWG).

"Elect" should be used instead as this is the normal procedure -
selection in the current  PDP only happens if for some reason there is
no chair to conduct a face-to-face meeting or a chair can't complete
their terms

2.2 Candidate Eligibility
I want the following added:
The candidate must be familiar with AfriNIC's policy development process
The candidate should be an active member of the policy development working group

7.0 Notification of Candidates
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 don't see why the Nomcom should be addressed instead of the candidate.
The questioning from the community shouldn't end at the mailing list
but should continue during the face-to-face meeting as well.

9.0 Vote Counting and Announcement of Election Results
The candidate with the highest number of votes shall win a two-year
term and the second highest
number of votes shall win the one year term.

This doesn't address situations where there is only one seat up for
grabs -- I would like to see this addressed

Additional:
I would like to see a clause that reinforces the will of the community
during the election process. This clause should help in checking the
powers of the Nomcom if there are any issues of contention, ensure
that candidates are not imposed on the community against their will.
Here is sample line:

In the event that there is any contention about the candidate(s) or
procedure, the matter shall be deliberated  by the members present at
the meeting. The Nomcom's shall moderate the deliberations and help in
gaining consensus. Should a situation arise where the election process
doesn't deliver a co-chair, the process to select one shall default to
PDPWG and be handled by the policy.

I would also like to see recusal clauses for the co-chairs incase a
conflict of interest exists. Here is an early draft:

One of the roles of the PDPWG co-chair is to moderate?? deliberations
so as to gauge and arrive at consensus; as such, the role requires a
level of integrity and neutrality. A co-chair must recuse
himself/herself from the role if any conflict of interests with the
matters being discussed during the PDPWG meetings exists

Regards,
-- 
Douglas Onyango | +256(0712)981329 | Twitter: @ondouglas
Life is the educator's practical joke in which you spend the first
half learning, and the second half learning that everything you
learned in the first was a joke.