[rpd] Candidate Slate for PDWG Co-Chair Selection

[NP Petronella]

Dear colleagues,

I oppose the current PDWG Co-Chair selection process in its entirety, and I call for any appointment on 18 November to be deferred.

The process fails on its own premise. An RIR justifies its self-authorization by openness, then narrows who may share in the power it has granted itself: it keeps the control while removing the ground on which it claims to represent the community. Here, the published slate contains one valid nominee. Section 6.3.2 sets out a consensus-based process; section 14.3 states that no election or selection exercise shall be held for an unopposed sole candidate, who is instead appointed through acclamation. A single name cannot by itself show that both provisions have been satisfied. AFRINIC must explain where and how community agreement is established. I reject a process in which eligibility screening settles the appointment and the meeting merely records that outcome as consensus.

The participation thresholds in section 6.3.4 also make institutional tenure decisive for an office whose authority should remain limited to facilitating a fair policy process.

Before any appointment proceeds, I call on AFRINIC to:

1. Give nominees affected by an adverse assessment the reasons for that decision and a proper opportunity to answer it before confirmation.
2. Explain how sections 6.3.2 and 14.3 operate together: how substantive objections will be assessed and answered, and what circumstances would prevent confirmation.

This reconciliation must precede the appointment. The community must retain a meaningful role in the decision, including scrutiny of the process that produced the slate.

Until these issues are addressed, I do not support proceeding with the appointment. The record must reflect this opposition and the response to it. The absence of alternative eligible names must not be treated as presumed agreement.

Regards,
Nonhlanhla


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