Joint SIG Session: Revising eligible voters of Chair election and Chair's term, by Masato Yamanishi. A presentation given at APNIC 42's Policy SIG (3) session on Wednesday, 5 October 2016.

1. Proposal for
revising eligible voters of Chair
election and Chair's term
Masato Yamanishi
APNIC 42 Open Policy Meeting
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Wed, 5 Oct 2016

2. Overview
This proposal consist of two parts
1. Eligible voters of Chair election
2. Chair’s term of service
2

3. Eligible voters
of Chair election

4. Problem statement
4
• In current SIG guidelines, we have no rule or guideline about
eligible voters in SIG Chair election
• It is not clear whether remote participants have voting rights
for SIG Chair election or not
– Current practices are different in each election.
• It can be used by fraud
– e.g. hijacking the position of Chair against the Community by
inviting many persons who never attend the community
discussion.

5. Objective of policy change
5
• Preventing confusions related to remote participant
• Mitigating possible frauds in SIG Chair election by setting clear
rule for eligible voters.

6. Situation in other regions
6
• LACNIC
– Nominees must be LACNIC Members, or supported by a LACNIC
Member. Nominees must not be a member of LACNIC staff.
– Voting takes place electronically immediately before the Public
Policy Forum.
– Only those subscribed to the policy mailing list may vote.
– The election outcome must be ratified by consensus among those
present as judged by the acting Chairs.
– If the winner is not ratified, LACNIC's Board of Directors will appoint
a Chair to fill the vacant position until the following Public Policy
Forum. The next time an election and ratification process can be
conducted, the person elected shall fill the position only for the
remaining part of the original term.
– This process is a part of PDP, so not be applied to other bodies

7. Situation in other regions (Cont.)
7
• RIPE NCC (Address Policy WG)
– Self-nominations
– Those present at the APWG session, either in person or remotely,
select a new Chair by consensus. The remaining Chair will judge
consensus, or if there is no APWG Chair, then the RIPE Chair will
gauge the consensus.
– If no consensus can be reached, RIPE NCC Staff will then conduct
a secret ballot among those physically present. The result will be
determined using proportional representation through the single
transferable vote (PR-STV).
– Each WG may have different Chair selection process

8. Situation in other regions (Cont.)
8
• AFRINIC (Policy Development WG)
– The Nominations Committee (NomCom) calls for nominees from 35 days
prior to the meeting. A nominee must physically live in the AFRINIC
service region, must be a natural person and may not be a staff member
of AFRINIC or any other RIR.
– A person may only nominate one candidate. Self-nominations will be
allowed but must be backed by at least two AFRINIC members in good
standing. AFRINIC or other RIR staff cannot nominate candidates.
– A NomCom verifies the process and conducts reviews of the nominations
to confirm they meet the criteria.
– Voters must
• Be registered for the meeting
• Be present physically
• Reside in AFRINIC service region
• not be a staff member of AFRINIC or another RIR.
– Other WGs have different Chair selection process

9. Situation in other regions (Cont.)
9
• ARIN (Election process for Address Council members, not Chair)
– A NomCom of seven representatives guides the nomination process.
Candidates are nominated by ARIN Members in Good Standing, although
a petition process exists for self-nomination. Each nominee is asked to
complete a questionnaire developed by the NomCom for its consideration
of suitability.
– An electronic vote, requiring a quorum of 5% of eligible voters, is
conducted among the Voting Contacts for all General Members in good
standing for a period of (at least) seven days from the Fall Public Policy
and Members Meeting.
– The ARIN AC conducts an internal on-line ballot to elect a Chair.
– This process is only for Address Council

10. Proposed policy solution
10
• I would like to propose limiting eligible voters of SIG Chair election to
registered participants of APNIC Conference where the election is held.
– In this context, registered participants include remote participants who
register to Confer, or its successor in future.
– It is slightly different from on-site voting condition for NRO NC election
Ø People voting onsite must be registered for either the current APNIC
Conference they are attending, or have been registered for at least one
previous APNIC Conference since APNIC 10. Verification of your
entitlement to vote against official records will be used where
necessary.

11. Advantages / Disadvantages
11
• Advantages
– We can avoid confusion whether remote participant cast vote
for SIG Chair election or not
– We can mitigate frauds in SIG Chair election
• Disadvantages
– APNIC staff may need to spend some additional time to
confirm whether each voter is registered participants.

12. Impact on resource holders
12
• No direct impact

13. Chair’s term of service

14. Problem statement
14
• SIG guidelines says "Elections occur yearly. Chair elections and Co-Chair
elections occur in alternate years.“
• However, in several cases, both elections were held at same meeting
– In particular when a current Co-Chair stands for the position of Chair
– And After that, both elections may occur in same year continuously.
• From the continuity perspective, it is more preferable to stagger Chair's and
Co-Chair's term.
• In addition, there is no alternative condition for the successor's term if
current Chair/Co-Chair resigned or was removed in the middle of the term
– Current practice is giving 2 years even for such cases
– Alternative condition is necessary to maintain staggered term as
requested by SIG guideline.

15. Objective of policy change
15
• Making sure Chair’s and Co-Chair’s terms are staggered even
when
– Current Co-chair stands for next Chair position
– One of Chair/Co-Chairs is resigned or removed at the end of the others’
term
• Resolving unclearness of the successor's term when current
Chair/Co-Chair resigned or was removed

16. Situation in other regions
16
• LACNIC
– 2 years, staggered terms
– No specific rule for successor’s term after resignation or removal
• RIPE NCC
– 2 years, staggered terms
– No specific rule for successor’s term after resignation or removal
• AFRINIC
– 2 years, staggered terms
– No specific rule for successor’s term after resignation or removal
• ARIN
– 3 years, 5 of 15 members are re-elected in each year
– If one of positions is vacated in the middle of the term, the successor will
serve only for it’s remaining term

17. Proposed policy solution
17
• Would like to propose revising SIG Chair's term of service as follows.
– Elections occur yearly. Chair elections and Co-Chair elections occur in
alternate years (same as current SIG guideline)
– If current Chair/Co-Chair resigned or was removed, the successor's term
should be remaining term of current Chair/Co-Chair
– If Chair election and Co-Chair election are happen in same year from
other reasons than resignation or removal shown in above, Co-Chair's (or
Co-Chairs') term of service should be one year as Chair's and Co-Chairs'
term of service are staggered

18. Advantages / Disadvantages
18
• Advantages
– We can make sure Chair’s and Co-Chair’s terms are staggered
– We can resolve unclearness of the successor's term when
current Chair/Co-Chair resigned or was removed
• Disadvantages
– None

19. Impact on resource holders
19
• No direct impact

20. Summary

21. Summary
21
I Would like to propose;
1. Limiting eligible voters of SIG Chair election to registered participants of
APNIC Conference where the election is held.
– In this context, registered participants include remote participants who
register to Confer, or its successor in future.
2. Revising SIG Chair's term of service as follows.
– Elections occur yearly. Chair elections and Co-Chair elections occur in
alternate years (same as current SIG guideline)
– If current Chair/Co-Chair resigned or was removed, the successor's term
should be remaining term of current Chair/Co-Chair
– If Chair election and Co-Chair election are happen in same year from
other reasons than resignation or removal shown in above, Co-Chair's (or
Co-Chairs') term of service should be one year as Chair's and Co-Chairs'
term of service are staggered

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