Dear all, As you know, the ICANN annual meeting in Cairo will mark the end of the terms of: 1. One Member of the At-Large Advisory Committee from each Geographic Region; 2. The officers of the ALAC; 3. The Liaisons appointed by the ALAC To help ensure the elections for the open positions run smoothly, this email will provide you with an overview of the election process as it relates to the elections of Members of the At-Large Advisory Committee. You will find: * The general provisions governing the elections (ICANN By-laws and ALAC rules of procedures) * A suggestion for an election timetable for all regions * The regional provisions governing the elections (regional MoU and Operating Principles) * An overview of open ALAC positions General provisions governing the elections When the RALOs were formed in 2006 and 2007, the Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) and regional Operating Principles did not, with one exception, cover the voting process (nomination period, timing and other rules governing the elections) in any detail. Most regional instruments only say that the region is responsible for electing two out of the three regional ALAC positions, the third position being appointed by the NomCom. Given the lack of clear provisions on the election process in the regional instruments, one needs to turn to the ICANN by-laws, the Rules of Procedure of the RALOs (for those which have adopted RoPs), and to the extent RALOs who would otherwise not have specific rules for the conduct of elections, if they so desire the ALAC rules of procedure. The ICANN by-laws, which apply to all regions, do not cover the election process but make clear that the regional ALAC members will serve two-year terms starting at the conclusion of an annual ICANN meeting. The terms are staggered, meaning that one term will start in an odd-numbered year and one term will start in an even-numbered year: ICANN Bylaws: Article Xi, Section 2.4.c 1. The term of one member selected by each RALO shall begin at the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting in an even-numbered year. 2. The term of the other member selected by each RALO shall begin at the conclusion of an ICANN annual meeting in an odd-numbered year. See: http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws.htm <http://www.icann.org/en/general/bylaws.htm> At-Large Advisory Committee Internal Rules of Procedure The ALAC rules of procedure, on the other hand, only contain rules that apply to the ALAC officer elections: 1. Call for election: no earlier than one month before the ICANN meeting and no later than three weeks before an ICANN meeting (rule 9) 2. Deadline for nominations: 14 days after election call (rule 9) 3. Acceptance period: Nomination must be accepted no later than 7 days after the nomination deadline and no later than 7 days before the start of an ICANN meeting (rule 9) See: https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?rules_of_procedure <https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?rules_of_procedure> (At-Large Advisory Committee Rules of Procedure) Suggested election procedure for ALAC representatives: Since the RALOs have few details about the procedure by which they elect their ALAC members, it is suggested that the election process for ALAC representatives use the procedure by which ALAC elects officers and liaisons: * Call for election: The regional Secretariat will make a call for election no later than seven weeks before the start of the annual ICANN meeting (14 September 2008) * Nomination Period: nominations shall be accepted for two weeks after the Secretariat calls for nominations (28 September 2008) * Acceptance deadline: the nominees need to accept their nomination no later than seven days after the nomination period ends (05 October 2008) * Election deadline: The election shall begin no later than one week after the end of the acceptance deadline (12 October 2008) and end not later than two weeks before the start of the annual ICANN meeting. (19 October 2008). In other words, votes would actually be cast between 12 to 19 October 2008) Voting Mechanism We would suggest that the online voting system used previously in various regions at www.bigpulse.com <http://www.bigpulse.com> (and which is used for all ALAC votes including for ALS Applications). The staff would administer these votes through the system, in all cases allowing independent verification via a URL located on the BigPulse servers which would provide the results of votes held. There are two regions NARALO and LACRALO which have adopted detailed Rules of Procedure for meetings. These RALOs may wish to use the elections procedures as specified in those RoPs, since they do provide clauses which allow online meetings to vote on various issues. Regional provisions governing the elections Various RALOs are at present speaking about the upcoming elections. A separate email communication follows this message that is tailored for each RALO, in hopes that this is useful in facilitating this process. AFRALO: a) Length of the nomination period: "a reasonable period shall be provided" (MOU:2.) b) Election date: not specified c) Additional provisions: one- year term, one vote per ALS (MOU:2) See: https://st.icann.org/afralo/index.cgi?mou_and_organising_documents <https://st.icann.org/afralo/index.cgi?mou_and_organising_documents To make sure that there will be staggered terms in all regions, it was decided that one of the current African ALAC positions shall be for two years and one should be for one years (see below for an overview of all open ALAC positions). In accordance with the ICANN bylaws, the terms of African ALAC representatives shall be set to two years. APRALO: a) Length of the nomination period: not specified b) Election date: not specified c) Additional provisions: "one vote per ALS" See: https://st.icann.org/asiapac/index.cgi?ralo_organising_documents <https://st.icann.org/asiapac/index.cgi?ralo_organising_documents EURALO: a) Length of the nomination period: not specified b) Election date: not specified c) Additional provisions: The European Mou says that ³The voting rights shall be determined by the EURALO.² (EURALO MoU, 5.4.1). According to the EURALO Bylaws, the European representatives elect the regional ALAC members at their General Assembly ( EURALO Bylaws, 11.10). The following rules govern the decisions of the GA: ³... each Member has one vote.² (11.4) whereas ³ Members of The Association shall consist of ...... organisations domiciled in Europe ........ which qualify as an ALS.² (EURALO Bylaws 4.1.) Additionally, the selected representatives must be members of different ALSes, must have their principal residence in different countries of the region and their nationalities must be different. To the extent possible, gender balance and regional balance within Europe shall be fostered.²(11.5 EURALO Bylaws). See: https://st.icann.org/euralo/index.cgi?ralo_organising_instruments <https://st.icann.org/euralo/index.cgi?ralo_organising_instruments> LACRALO: a) Length of the nomination period: not specified b) Election date: not specified c) Additional provisions: two-year terms, "no re-election", one vote per ALS (Operating Principles 8) Detailed provisions for elections and voting during meetings can be found under: https://st.icann.org/lacralo/index.cgi?ralo_organising_documents <https://st.icann.org/lacralo/index.cgi?ralo_organising_documents> It is up to the region to decide if it wishes to treat the election as if it were a meeting. NARALO: a) Length of the nomination period: 30 days (Operating Principles 11) Start of nomination period: on or before 1 July (OP 11) b) Election date: "sufficiently in advance of ICANN's annual meeting" (OP 11) c) Additional provisions: ALAC representatives may not serve more than two consecutive terms (OP 10) Detailed provisions for elections and voting during meetings can be found under: See: https://st.icann.org/naralo/index.cgi?ralo_organizing_documents <https://st.icann.org/naralo/index.cgi?ralo_organizing_documents> It is up to the region to decide if it wishes to treat the election as if it were a meeting. Open ALAC positions: AFRALO: Hawa Diakité¹s term expires after the annual ICANN meeting in 2008 APRALO: Izumi Aizu¹s term expires after the annual ICANN meeting in 2008 EURALO: Sébastien Bachollet¹s term expires after the annual ICANN meeting in 2008. Veronica Cretu stepped back from her position earlier this year. It is suggested that there shall be a call for somebody to replace her until the end of her term, which ends at the end of the ICANN annual meeting in 2009. LACRALO: José Ovidio Salgueiro¹s term expires after the annual ICANN meeting in 2008 NARALO: Beau Brendler¹s term expires after the annual ICANN meeting in Cairo Minimum Participation Requirements With respect to the Minimum Participation Requirements for Members of the At-Large Advisory Committee, the ALAC Rules of Procedure in Rule 21 is relevant. Rule 21.9 is of particular importance as it talks about the quantitative requirements. They are: A) Participation in at least 2/3 of the ALAC conference calls in any 6-month period B) Attending at least one physical meeting in any 9 month period C) Completing at least one feedback survey on At-Large issues in any 6 month period With regards rules A) and B) above, please find attached the attendance record for ALAC members and Liaisons. It covers the nine months preceding August 2008. The Staff will keep this up to date and publicly accessible. Regards, Nick Ashton-Hart, Matthias Langenegger, Frederic Teboul ICANN At-Large Staff email: staff@atlarge.icann.org