[AfriNIC-rpd] NomCom at AFRINIC-16

[Badru Ntege]

I have followed this thread with keen interest.  Usually laws are made after a precedent to avoid the repetition of a particular incident.

Any election will have a need for the candidate to lobby for support.  Up until now lobbying has been allowed by default and there has been no guidelines.  If the community now feels that we need to have these guidelines I know we have a process to get to a community desired outcome.

However I do think this could be a red herring as per Owens outsider view.  If you look at the just concluded elections, all candidates had a few proxies in their support which by the open election I figure on average each had about 15 proxies for those of us who counted as the ballot was being cast. The election had 97 valid voters and they were 4 wasted ballots. 

The floor had 82 members who made a decision among the candidates and delivered a clear mandate where the winning candidates got over 50 votes in their support and the alternate candidates got in the lower 20's.  I think the members resoundingly made a clear decision on those they felt would represent them.  And proxies played a very small part of the end result for the winners. I for one was humbled and very grateful for this clear support.

I hear ecos about e-voting but sure think our challenge is more about getting more members to participate actively in the community and maybe an incident like election lobbying if done within the agreed community bye laws might contribute to this. 

Technology will remove the need of the ballot  box and volunteers counting the vote but the rest of the process remains the same and we need to be objective and mindfull of the fact that we want to build an inclusive community.  And personally feel the current process is still very good for the community since it encourages the personal contact by candidates with the community and directly or indirectly empowers members.  This is the classic technology vs tradition debate and we need to also look at the cost benefit analysis when it comes to AfriNics mandate towards the community.  

As for the past election I think we need to put that to rest and look forward. Ethics are subjective and thus the different views a clear agreed election policy will eliminate the subjectivity.  Let's have a proposal discussed by the community specifically on the election process so we do not go through the same debate after every election as we have been doing for the last few years.  


Badru Ntege


“Vision without execution is hallucination.” 
― Thomas A. Edison





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