- zanog-discuss - lists.nog.net.za

Organisation of New AFRINIC Board Elections by 30 September 2025
by comms＠afrinic.net 15 Jul '25

15 Jul '25

Apologies for cross-posting Dear Valued Members and the Internet Community, During the elections held on 23 June 2025, suspicions of irregularities were raised, particularly regarding the use of Powers of Attorney by some voters. Complaints were submitted to the relevant authorities by aggrieved parties, and the Police is investigating the matter. In the interest of transparency and fairness and given the absence of final conclusions from the ongoing investigation, I made the decision to annul the results of these elections. Therefore, I am currently unable to formally report on the extent of the identified irregularities. Nevertheless, I reported the matter to the Supreme Court of Mauritius and requested an extension of my mandate as Receiver to organize new elections. This request was granted. These elections must now be held no later than 30 September 2025. In this context, and to ensure a more inclusive electoral process, I invite all stakeholders of the Internet community to submit the names of credible and trustworthy individuals to serve on the Nominations Committee (NomCom), which will be responsible for overseeing the candidate selection process. The responsibilities of the Nom Com are outlined here: a) use its best effort towards ensuring that a satisfactory number of individuals from the African internet community stand as candidate for the election of the directors of AFRINIC; and b) have general responsibility for, and shall supervise the conduct of the polls by the election Committee throughout the voting period. c) In the discharge of its function above, the Nom Com: i. shall call for candidates for elections held by AFRINIC; ii. prescribe criteria and qualifications for eligibility to stand as candidate for elections held by AFRINIC; iii. may interview candidates prior to finalising the list of candidature; and d) Shall finalise the list of candidates for any election held by AFRINIC. Deadline for submission: 17 July 2025 Please send your proposals to the following email address: nomcomselection(a)afrinic.net<mailto:nomcomselection@afrinic.net> The NomCom will be formed by selecting one representative from each region. This measure helps protect the integrity of the election and ensures neutrality, addressing any concerns of regional bias or conflict of interest. Finally, to prevent any disputes similar to those previously observed, neither Powers of Attorney nor proxies will be accepted for the upcoming elections. The elections will be conducted entirely online, allowing all eligible voting members to exercise their rights from wherever they are. Thank you for your cooperation and your commitment to AFRINIC’s renewal and stability. Gowtamsingh DABEE Receiver

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Invitation : ZANOG-KZN : 24 July 2024 @ 18h00 : New Venue
by donald＠nog.net.za 10 Jul '25

10 Jul '25

ZANOG is happy to announce our next regional Network Operator Group meeting (KwaZulu Natal) of 2025 at Westville Country Club, 1 Link Road, Westville, Durban, South Africa. Please note our new venue Date: 24 July 2025 Time: 18h00 - 22h00 Venue : Westville Country Club, 1 Link Road, Westville, Durban, South Africa. RSVP : https://events.nog.net.za/event/66/ We are looking for speakers for this event. We invite you to share your story with the community. email us info[at]nog.net.za We will be having the usual evening talks, followed by drinks, snacks and social networking. Talks will start at 18h30, but we encourage arrivals from 18h00 for a bit of mingling, before the event. Talk 1 : 100G Single-Lambda Optics - Mark Tinka A big thank you to FLEXOPTIX for their support and sponsorship of ZANOG 2025 events.

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ZANOGs view on the Afrinic Election
by edd＠nog.net.za 25 Jun '25

25 Jun '25

Dear Zanoggers! There has been considerable interest in ZANOG’s position regarding the upcoming AFRINIC board election. More than ever, this election is crucial — and we strongly encourage every eligible resource member to vote. As you cast your vote, we urge you to consider which candidates are best equipped to serve the long-term interests of AFRINIC and the broader Internet community. As a resource holder, ZANOG will be participating in this election. We have spent significant time to review the candidates to ensure that our choice reflects ZANOG’s values and commitment to a healthy, community-driven Internet ecosystem. Below is a list of candidates we believe are best positioned to guide AFRINIC through its current challenges and help restore it to a state of operational stability and credibility — so that it may once again fulfil its role in serving the community effectively. Seat 1 (North Africa) - Abdelaziz Hilali Seat 2 (West Africa) - Emmanuel Adewale Adedokun Seat 3 (Indian Ocean) - Kaleem Usmani Seat 4 (Central Africa) - Laurent Ntumba Seat 5 (Southern Africa) - Carla Sanderson Seat 6 (East Africa) - Fiona Asonga Seat 7 (Non-regional/Independent 1) - Adewole David Ajao Seat 8 (Non-regional/Independent 2) - Ben Roberts Kind regards Edd

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ICANN To Dabee Re: Concerning Allegations Regarding AFRINIC’s Board of Directors’ Election
by Noah 25 Jun '25

25 Jun '25

Hi Members Please read below communication from ICANN President to Mr.Dabee https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/correspondence/lindqvist-to-dabee-25j… Cheers, *.**/noah*

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Re: [members-discuss] Update on the 2025 Board Election Process
by Jaco Kroon 25 Jun '25

25 Jun '25

Hi, For what it's worth, +1, and I'm sure every single concerned resource member of Afrinic is also agreeing with this. Further to the below, the process is clearly not transparent, as no public statement has been made providing details as to WHY elections were suspended in the first place, and most certainly not what was done to rectify it. It's further clear that the integrity of the process has been violated, the degree to which has not been made clear, and that the election (on-site results at the very least) should be nullified. I would like to call for online-voting ONLY, using a strict verification process. People already through the process should have the documents re-verified to ensure that the signatories are in fact authorised to do so (ie, appears on the company documents of the relevant companies in case of non-natural person resource members, and id documents to be verified for those resource members who are natural persons, if any). I would like to call that ALL resource members be permitted to vote, not only those that have become resource members after some arbitrary date. The by-laws provides them the right to vote, and the current process violates those rights. That would include new resource members that have paid for, but not yet received those resources (and incidentally for those resources to be issued as a matter of urgency, as it represents a breach of contract on the part of Afrinic). Kind regards, Jaco On 2025/06/25 08:34, Andrew Alston wrote: > How is this possible considering there are *known* incidents of > fraudulent POA's being used - how can ballot counting commence when > the in person ballots are clearly flawed? > > What exactly was done to rectify the fraudulent POA's? > > Andrew > > > On Wed, Jun 25, 2025 at 9:30 AM AFRINIC Communication via > Members-Discuss <members-discuss(a)afrinic.net> wrote: > > Dear Valued Members, > > We are pleased to inform you that the temporary suspension of > voting activities, which was implemented as a precautionary > measure on 23 June 2025 at 17:32 MUT, has now been officially > lifted. This pause was necessary to address any procedural queries > and to ensure the continued integrity and transparency of the > election. > > We would like to reassure all members that such reviews and brief > suspensions are not uncommon in election processes, particularly > in complex and multi-faceted voting environments. They represent > our commitment to transparency,accountability, and the adherence > to AFRINIC's rigorous electoral standards. > > With the suspension now lifted, we will promptly commence the > counting and validation of all ballots. > > Please rest assured that the integrity of your vote is > safeguarded, and the temporary interruption will not adversely > affect the overall election outcomes. > > Thank you for your continued trust, patience, and active > participation in AFRINIC’s governance. > > Your involvement is crucial in maintaining the strength and > credibility of our community. > > Regards, > > AFRINIC > _______________________________________________ > Members-Discuss mailing list > Members-Discuss(a)afrinic.net > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/members-discuss > > > _______________________________________________ > Members-Discuss mailing list > Members-Discuss(a)afrinic.net > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/members-discuss

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PROPOSED BYLAWS COMPLIANCE BOARD ELECTION FRAMEWORK
by Noah 24 Jun '25

24 Jun '25

Dear ZANOG Members, Amidst the ongoing efforts to restore a member-elected board at (AFRINIC), the TISPA is putting forward a clear, responsible, and bylaws-compliant election framework. The proposal is designed to achieve two critical goals simultaneously: establish a functional board without delay, and safeguard the integrity of AFRINIC’s future elections. We believed that a rushed election that violates AFRINIC’s own constitution will only lead to further instability as we had feared. Therefore the framework proposed by TISPA offers a viable path forward that respects our foundational rules (the constitution/bylaws of AFRINIC) and protects the community’s central role in governance. *Proposed Election Framework* TISPA was concerned that the election process, by filling all six regional seats, violates Article 13.6 and risks a 2028 governance crisis, as a bylaws-compliant NomCom (Article 9.1) cannot be formed without vacant regional seats, potentially leading to an externally appointed NomCom again. But also the participation of all resource members in good standing, the staggering nature of elections, regional based nomcom etc. To ensure full compliance with the AFRINIC 2020 Bylaws, TISPA proposes to resource members that the current election process be structured as follows: *Board Composition:* *1. Elect Six (6) Directors to Form a Quorate Board:* - Four (4) Regional Directors: Filling the seats for four of the six regions (e.g., Northern, Western, Indian Ocean, and Central Africa), in accordance with Article 13.5. - Two (2) Non-Regional Directors: Filling the competency-based, independent seats (Seats 7 and 8), as stipulated in Article 13.4(ii). *2. Leave Two (2) Regional Seats Unslated:* - The seats for the remaining two regions (e.g., Southern and Eastern Africa) should be left vacant in this election. This action is essential to respect the staggered election cycle mandated by Article 13.6 of the bylaws. These seats can be filled at a subsequent Annual General Members’ Meeting (AGMM). *3. Ensure Mauritius Residency:* - The election process must ensure that at least one of the elected directors is ordinarily resident in Mauritius, as required by both Article 13.9 of the bylaws and the Mauritius Companies Act 2001. *4. Quorum and Functionality: *A six- or seven-director board meets the quorum of five directors (Article 19.6), enabling AGMM calls (Article 11.1). *5. AFRINIC Community Participation: *The board (*currently the receiver*) appoints a NomCom via a public call (Article 9), allowing community nominations for vacant seats in future. *Inline with Community participation, having our sister RIR such as ARIN, RIPE, LACNIC and APNIC as external internet community observers would add more credibility to the election process since AFRINIC is a member of the NRO. * *TISPA’s Concerns:* A Court affidavits and application by TISPA aimed at addressing systemic violations of AFRINIC’s bylaws (Articles 9, 10, 12, 13), in terms of: - *Improper NomCom and Election Committee (ECOM) Constitution:* Breaches of Articles 9 and 10. - *Violation of Staggered Elections:* Electing all six regional seats disrupts Article 13.6. - *Disenfranchisement of Resource Members: * Violations of Article 12. Remember resource members have paid their fees and are in good standing and eligible to vote. - *AGMM Procedures:* Non-compliance with Article 12.2. Elections are supposed to happen during an AGMM or SGMM. - *Future NomCom Crisis:* Electing all six regional seats prevents a bylaws-compliant NomCom (Article 9.1) in 2028, risking an externally appointed NomCom and violating AFRINIC’s governance model (Article 23). There were suggestions by Amin and others related to seeking court and members consent to vary certain provision of the bylaws. *The attached document contains detailed writeup which informed the public statement here: https://tispa.or.tz/post/37/ <https://tispa.or.tz/post/37/>* For your consideration, criticism, improvement but above all, open discussion. Cheers, *Noah Maina* *TISPA*

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ZANOG Reminder
by Shawn Jooste 24 Jun '25

24 Jun '25

HI All, Just a reminder of the NOG on Thursday in Cape Town. Please register if you intend to come so we can cater properly, else you might not get a Pizza. --------- ZANOG <https://nog.net.za/> is happy to announce our next regional Network Operator Group meeting (Western Cape) of 2025 at Workshop17, Gardens , South Africa. *Please note the change of venue* ZANOG is an in person only event and will take place on Thursday 26 June 2025 We will be having the usual evening talks, followed by drinks, snacks and social networking. Talks will start at 18h30, but we encourage arrivals from 18h00 for a bit of mingling, before the event. Local NOGs are a great place to share stories or what you have been working on. let us know if you would like to share your story email us info[at]nog.net.za A big thank you to FLEXOPTIX <https://www.flexoptix.net/> for their support and sponsorship of ZANOG 2025 events. Register here, as space is limited: https://events.nog.net.za/event/65/

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IMPORTANT TISPA UPDATE: 2nd PUBLIC STATEMENT ON AFRINIC BOARD ELECTIONS AND RECENT COURT RULINGS
by Noah 23 Jun '25

23 Jun '25

Dear Members of (AfriNIC), The Tanzania Internet Service Providers Association (TISPA) would like to update the wider AFRINIC member base on the recent legal proceedings concerning the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC) Ltd’s board election process, with a focus on the following interim orders, 1. Interim order issued by the Supreme Court of Mauritius on June 13, 2025, in Tanzanian Internet Service Providers Association v. AFRINIC Ltd (In Receivership) and Mr. Gowtamsingh Dabee (SC/COM/WRT/000435/2025) 2. Interim order on June 19, 2025, in The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) v. Mr. Gowtamsingh Dabee (SC/COM/MOT/000442/2025) 3. The Court’s decision on June 20, 2025, to set aside TISPA’s application (SC/COM/WRT/000448/2025), allowing the unconstitutional election to proceed with the judge blaming TISPA for late filling. As a key stakeholder in Africa’s internet ecosystem, TISPA is committed to promoting transparent, lawful, and community-driven governance in the management of internet number resources. This statement addresses these developments, TISPA’s concerns and proposed election framework, and the urgent need to safeguard AFRINIC’s governance integrity. Second TISPA Statement https://tispa.or.tz/post/37/ For further inquiries or to provide input, please contact TISPA at legal(a)tispa.or.tz and secretariat(a)tispa.or.tz We appreciate your commitment to a stable and inclusive Internet ecosystem in Tanzania and Africa. Sincerely, Tanzanian Internet Service Providers Association (TISPA) Date: 23 June 2025

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AFRINIC Board Election: E-voting has started
by Mark Elkins 23 Jun '25

23 Jun '25

Dear Members of AfriNIC, If you are unsure whom to vote for, please note that a number of Internet Organisations such as TISPA (Tanzanian ISPA) and ISPA South Africa have issued their suggestions. I believe that other organisations have done the same too. I would strongly suggest looking at these suggestions and for the majority of seats, voting as they suggest. e.g. (ISPA/ZANOG) Seat 1 (North Africa) - Abdelaziz Hilali Seat 2 (West Africa) - Emmanuel Adewale Adedokun Seat 3 (Indian Ocean) - Kaleem Usmani Seat 4 (Central Africa) - Laurent Ntumba Seat 5 (Southern Africa) - Carla Sanderson Seat 6 (East Africa) - Fiona Asonga Seat 7 (Non-regional/Independent 1) - Ben Roberts There is one change I would suggest though, there are very few "old" Board Members mentioned in these lists. I would like to suggest voting for myself as one of the candidates for seats 7/8. The "why" is that I was a Board Member for six years from 2009. I was one of the original directors of UniForum SA (today this is ZARC) and automated the CO.ZA domain name process. In order to confirm we were doing the right thing, we attended various Internet meetings around the world. Mr Calvin Browne for example has attended almost every ICANN Meeting and I have attended almost every AFRINIC Meeting ever. My knowledge of AFRINIC is thus pretty good and I believe that this will be an important asset to the future of AFRINIC - best served as a Board Member of AFRINIC - so, please vote for me. Seat 8 (Non-regional/Independent 2) - Mark Elkins -- Mark James ELKINS - Posix Systems - (South) Africa mje(a)posix.co.za Tel: +27.826010496 <tel:+27826010496> For fast, reliable, low cost Internet in ZA: https://ftth.posix.co.za <https://ftth.posix.co.za> Posix SystemsVCARD for MJ Elkins

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Yet another TISPA case dismissed
by Andrew Alston 20 Jun '25

20 Jun '25

So - despite the order in court yesterday, and AfriNIC complying with the order that was issued, it seems TISPA was still attempting to get the election stopped, and once again, lost in court. Considering that the court ruled the NomCom was fair and in the spirit of the bylaws, and that the registered member issue had been resolved, I would love to know the motivation behind the continued attempts to get this election stopped. But, happily, the election continues. Thanks Andrew

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2026

2025

2024