[rpd] AFRINIC ELECTIONS

Tue May 3 17:56:10 UTC 2016

I also just wanted to point out another little fact in relation to your email.

You are correct that two board members resigned from the board for violating the board NDA, that is public knowledge.  However, if memory serves me correctly, the same two board members were then allowed to run for elections to regain their seats.  The community then had a choice to make, and the community, as a major rity voted.

Why could those two individuals still run after a violation serious enough to warrant stepping down?  Very simply because irrespective of what they did, the community still had a right to cast its votes and make its choice.  They were fairly nominated, they were fairly voted for, and the community got to have its choice.

Let that remain the case for every candidate.  Let anyone who believes in their candidates also stand up and be heard.  Let those who believe they are advocating for the good of AfriNIC as a whole shout it from the rooftops, and let it be sung in chorus.

For years we have seen back room lobbying, we have seen mails violating NDA’s to lobby, we have seen political moves and counter moves, but the one thing we have not seen, is straight down the line transparency, let those who support their candidates stand up and say why.

So again, I say this, let the voice of the majority be heard and lets be open, honest and transparent in our dealings (and our lobbying).  So again, I stand by my endorsements and every single word I said in the below email.

Andrew

From: abel ELITCHA <kmw.elitcha at gmail.com<mailto:kmw.elitcha at gmail.com>>
Date: Tuesday, 3 May 2016 at 8:33 PM
To: "AfriNIC RPD MList." <rpd at afrinic.net<mailto:rpd at afrinic.net>>
Subject: [rpd] AFRINIC ELECTIONS

Hi

I got to see the mail below from a board member. It concerned me as i raised some importants points:

1- While according to the election timeline (http://www.afrinic.net/en/community/elections/bod-election/process), the NOMCOM is evaluating the candidates and has not yet announced the slates, the  board member started the campaign to

influence the process and the vote

2- He is pushing for a candidate from his company

3- He issued an arbitrary judgment on the ability of the community to decide

4- I recalled that it  is the same board member who admitted in 2014  that he influenced the elections by paying for people to come and vote for him. The disclosure of which caused two board members to resign for breaching NDA.

Begin forwarded message:

Hi All,

I’m going to take a bit of an unusual step for me here, as promised in
earlier emails, and I am now ready to officially endorse certain
candidates for the AfriNIC elections.

I state openly that I do NOT yet know the entire slate, however, due
to time limitations and knowing what I know about the candidates I
refer to below, as well as at least some of the candidates running
against them (which I have heard from those candidates running
directly), I feel I’m in a position to take a strong and unequivocal
stance here and am ready to state to the community at large my views
on this.

Hence, in the next AfriNIC election, there are three seats open, one
independent seat, one north african seat and one west african seat.

On the West African seat, I am endorsing Sunday Folayan.  Sunday is
the current chair of the AfriNIC board, and despite many trying
circumstances in the year and half since he has taken the chair,
AfriNIC has made tremendous progress.  Indeed, in Pointe Noir we were
credited with giving the community transparent information and
financials for the first time in 10 years.  Sunday and his leadership
played a huge part in this and his institutional knowledge and the way
he has run the board have been critical to the improved situation we
are starting to find ourselves in.

On the North African seat, I am endorsing Hytham Ek-Nakhal.  Hytham is
currently the deputy chair of the board, and again, in the year since
he took that position, he has proved very capable and also carries
deep institutional knowledge from a prolonged tenure on the board.  I
have found him to be fair, reasonable and willing to both have his
views and debate the views of others in the search for a consensus
approach.  Hence, I strongly believe that his tenure on the board
should continue.

On the Independent seat, here I am endorsing Mike Silber, who many of
you know.  I do not know if the current board member for this seat is
going to be running again, but irrespective of that my endorsement
will stand, due to specific skills I believe the AfriNIC board
requires.  Mike has many many years in the industry, and his work with
ICANN and within the addressing space is well documented and well
respected.  In addition to that, Mike is legally trained and that is
something we desperately need within AfriNIC as we look at the bylaws,
as we move into an era where there is a governance committee, there
are bids of control and various other issues.  It is that legal skill
set that we are missing directly on the board (yes, we have legal
council, but it is a very different thing to have someone who has that
kind of legal knowledge actually sitting on the board).

I need to also point out, in the event of the board losing both Sunday
and Hytham, and the independent seat going to a weak candidate,
AfriNIC will be in serious trouble.  Firstly, I personally do not
believe that the board has anyone who is anywhere close to as capable
as Sunday or Hytham for the positions of chair and vice chair
respectively, and whoever comes in could not take those positions no
matter how strong, since those positions require institutional
knowledge that comes from time served on the board.  My reasoning for
endorsing Mike is made plain above.

As such, for those of you who are opting to issue proxies and wish to
issue proxies to myself or via myself, this is how I will be voting.
Those of you who are voting electronically, I encourage you when the
slate comes out to study each and every candidate – but I am confident
that what I have said above will ring true, and I ask every member of
this list to get out there and use your vote, either for one of these
candidates or otherwise one of the others when the slate comes out –
but please, make sure you vote, either via proxy or via online or in
person.  I cannot stress how many critical issues are going to come up
in the next year or two, and without a strong and independent board we
could face serious issues.

Please feel free  to address any questions to me.  As stated in
previous emails, as soon as the proxy generation system is open, for
those that wish to use that route, I will supply details on how to use
it.

Thanks

Andrew "

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