https://ccnso.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-11nov25-en.htm New Call for nominations to the ccNSO Council: African region The three-year terms for five members of the ccNSO Council will conclude in March 2026. In September 2025, the Council launched a call for nominations to fill these upcoming vacancies. The only nominee from the African region did not accept their nomination. Council therefor decided to launch a new call for nominations for the African region seat, in line with the ICANN Bylaws, the ccNSO Council Selection Guideline, and the timeline adopted by Council. Key details for nominations and seconding are included below. TIMELINE | The nomination and secondment procedure starts Thursday, 13 November 2025 (00:01 UTC) and ends 4 December 2025 (23:59 UTC). * Nomination acceptance period: 5 – 12 December 2025 * Election period (if applicable): 22 January – 4 February 2026 WHO CAN NOMINATE OR SECOND? | Only ccNSO Members from the African region, via their Representatives. The ICANN Bylaws, Article 10 – Section 10.4 (h)<https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article10> state: "(h) Any ccNSO member may nominate an individual to serve as a ccNSO Council member representing the ccNSO member's Geographic Region. Nominations must be seconded by another ccNSO member from a different Territory, from the same Geographic Region. By accepting their nomination, individuals nominated to the ccNSO Council agree to support the policies committed to by ccNSO members." The ccNSO Council election guideline, section 4.2<https://ccnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/field-attached/guideline-ccnso-c...>, states: "Only Representatives of ccTLD managers whose ccNSO membership has been approved by the ccNSO Council no later than one day before the start of the Call for Nominations are eligible to nominate or second a candidate. If the individual submitting a nomination or seconding is not the Representative, the Selection Process Manager will notify the Representative and request confirmation of the nomination or seconding." The Glossary of the Internal ccNSO Rules, states:<https://ccnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/field-attached/internal-membersh...> "Representative - Each ccTLD manager may designate in writing a person, organization, or entity to represent the ccTLD manager in matters relating to the ccNSO ("Representative"). In the absence of such a designation, the person, organization, or entity listed as the administrative contact in the IANA database shall be deemed to be the designate of the ccTLD manager by whom the ccNSO member shall be represented." Contact joke.braeken@icann.org<mailto:joke.braeken@icann.org>, in case you have questions regarding who is listed as the Representative for your ccTLD. Note that new ccNSO members can participate in the nomination process if the ccNSO membership application has been approved by the ccNSO Council one day prior to the nomination process start, i.e., latest on 12 September 2025. KEY DETAILS | As per Section 6.1. of the ccNSO Guideline: ccNSO Council Selection and Removal Procedures<https://ccnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/field-attached/guideline-ccnso-c...>, here are key details for nominations and secondings: Nomination and Seconding Limits: * Each Representative may nominate and/or second only one (1) person to serve as Councillor for their respective ICANN Geographical Region. * If a Representative nominates more than one person, only the first nomination will be considered valid. Self-Nominations: * A Representative may self-nominate. * A self-nominated individual must be seconded by at least two (2) other Representatives from the same ICANN Geographic Region. Seconding Process: * If a Representative seconds more than one nomination, only the first seconding will be considered valid. * Self-secondings are not valid and will not be processed. Nomination and Seconding Forms: * All nominations and secondings must be submitted using the nomination or secondment form. * To be valid, these forms must be completed in full and submitted within the relevant deadlines. * All nominations and secondings will be publicly posted. INSTRUCTIONS | Nominations and secondments should be sent by e-mail to the Election Manager at the following e-mail address: ccnso-nominations@icann.org<mailto:ccnso-nominations@icann.org>. Templates for nominating and seconding nominations are provided below. You are kindly invited to follow these instructions closely, and not to use alternative templates. Consult the archive for nominations and secondments here: https://lists.icann.org/hyperkitty/list/ccnso-nominations@icann.org/ = = = please send to ccnso-nominations@icann.org<mailto:ccnso-nominations@icann.org> TEMPLATE | NOMINATION TO THE ccNSO COUNCIL Your full name: Your e-mail address: Your ccTLD: Your geographic region: Full name of the person you nominate to the ccNSO council: e-mail address of the person you nominate: = = = please send to ccnso-nominations@icann.org<mailto:ccnso-nominations@icann.org> TEMPLATE | SECONDING A NOMINATION TO THE CCNSO COUNCIL Your full name Your e-mail address: Your ccTLD: Your geographic region: Full name of the nominee you would like to second: ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS TO BE ELECTED TO CCNSO COUNCIL | Any individual eligible to serve as a Councillor selected by ccNSO members may be selected in accordance with the procedures outlined in the ccNSO Guideline: ccNSO Council Selection and Removal Procedures<https://ccnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/field-attached/guideline-ccnso-c...>. To be considered a valid candidate for a specific ICANN Geographic Region, an individual must be nominated and seconded by Representatives from that same Region in line with the the ccNSO Guideline: ccNSO Council Selection and Removal Procedures<https://ccnso.icann.org/sites/default/files/field-attached/guideline-ccnso-c...>. The nominee must have accepted their nomination. ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS | After closure of the nomination period, the Election Manager will ask the nominees to accept their nomination. The Election Manager will provide a list with the name(s) of the candidate(s). A record of who has nominated and seconded the candidate(s) is publicly available: https://lists.icann.org/hyperkitty/list/ccnso-nominations@icann.org/ NEXT STEPS | The Election Manager will ask the candidates that accepted their nominations to provide a written candidate statement. A Question-and-Answer session with the candidate(s) might be held prior to the start of the elections. If the number of candidates in a region do not exceed the available seats, they are automatically selected. If there are more candidates than seats, an election will be held in that region as per the timeline adopted by the Council. LINKS * ICANN bylaws, Article 10<https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/governance/bylaws-en/#article10> * ccNSO Internal Membership Rules<https://ccnso.icann.org/en/about/internal-membership-rules-26oct22-en.pdf> * Archive for nominations and secondments<https://lists.icann.org/hyperkitty/list/ccnso-nominations@icann.org/> * Relevant ccNSO guideline<https://ccnso.icann.org/en/about/guideline-ccnso-council-selection-removal-p...> * Announcements related to Council elections<https://ccnso.icann.org/en/about/elections/council.htm> Joke Braeken joke.braeken@icann.org<mailto:joke.braeken@icann.org>