Dear Council, Bart, On Tue, May 27, 2025 at 04:04:12PM +0000, Bart Boswinkel via Ccnso-council wrote:
You are requested to review the included version. If you have any comments, please send them to the list or directly to me by Tuesday 3 June 2025. The GRC will review your comments and update the draft if considered necessary.
Thanks to the GRC for addressing recent "gaps" in the procedure! I have reviewed the document and added ciomments and suggestions below, Sharing this with Council not for thiose details but because of an objection raised against 7.1 (don't know whether that's updated or not, but we had a similar issue with the Board Seat elections). Kind regards Peter -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Eligibility to participate in the selection process 4.1. Eligibility to be selected as a ccNSO Councillor by ccNSO Members Any individual eligible to serve as a Councillor selected by ccNSO members may be any person selected in accordance with the procedures outlined in this Guideline.
This reads circular to me: eligibility derives from the result of the selection. I think what we are trying to say is that anyone is eligible, in particular no relation to any ccTLD is necessary (other than getting nomination, support, and employer approval (see below).
4.2. Eligibility to Nominate and Second Only Representatives of ccTLD managers whose ccNSO membership has been approved no later than one day before the start of the Call for Nominations are eligible to nominate or second a candidate. This means that the ccNSO Council must have approved the membership application by that time.
I suggest to remove the last sentence, it duplicates the first. Maybe change "has been approved" to "has been approved by the ccNSO Council" there. Don't we have a "member in good standing" clause?
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. 4.3. Eligibility to Vote Only Emissaries of ccTLD Managers whose ccNSO membership has been approved no later than one day before the start of the call for Nominations, are eligible to vote for a candidate from their respective region. This means that the ccNSO Council must have approved their ccNSO membership application by that time.
For the last sentence, see above. The Bylaws define Emissaries of Territories, not ccTLD Managers, and they task the ccTLD Managers in a territory with identifying the Emissary. I do think that this clause does not aim at the Emissary, but at the proper membership of at least one ccTLD from the Territory.
5 5. Selection Process Timeline The Council shall appoint the Selection Process Manager and establish the Council Selection Process timeline. When determining the timeline, the Council should consider the following factors: ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Appointment of the Selection Process Manager. Nomination period: The Nomination Period will last for 3 weeks. Nomination Acceptance Period: This period will last for 1 week.
Since the intro says "should", I wonder whether these fixed time spans might better be, say, "at least 3 weeks" or "at least/most one week".
Q&A session with Candidates: After the Nomination Acceptance Period closes, a Q&A session should be held, preferably during a ccNSO members' session at ICANN’s Annual General Meeting. Voting Process Duration: ○ ○ ○ The voting period will last 2 weeks If needed, a run-off election will last 1 week A second round of voting may be required if the quorum is not met Review and Adoption of the Selection Process Report by Council. The objective is to complete the regular, annual Council Selection Process at least two months before the meeting at which newly elected Councillors take their seats on the Council. 6. Call for Nominations 6.1. Nomination Process The Selection Process Manager will send a Call for Nominations to the ccNSO membership, including: ● Instructions on how to nominate or second a nomination, along with a link to the necessary forms and submission details ● Eligibility criteria for nominating or seconding ● The Selection Process timeline as adopted by the Council 6 Key details for nominations and seconding: ● 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.
Basing this on the Representative rather than the Emissary is consistent with the general logic, but it would allow for multiple nominees even from the same territory. I'd suggest we add a note of discouragement here (see below).
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: ○ form. ○ deadlines. All nominations and secondings must be submitted using the nomination or secondment To be valid, these forms must be completed in full and submitted within the relevant ○ All nominations and secondings will be publicly posted. 6.1.1. Nomination Form Your full name: Your ccTLD: Your ICANN Geographic Region: Full name of the person you nominate to the ccNSO Council: 6.1.2. Secondment Form Your full name: Your ccTLD: Your ICANN Geographic Region: Full name of the nominee you would like to second: 6.2. Nomination Acceptance 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 accordance with the rules outlined below. The Selection Process Manager will ask Nominees to confirm their nomination acceptance by completing the Nomination Acceptance Form. This must be submitted along with the following documentation: 7 ● ● Employer's Letter of Support (from the ccTLD or another relevant organization), which must include an acknowledgment of the time commitment required.
Maybe we could be more explicit about the role of this letter, especially if the employer is not a ccTLD/not a ccNSO member. It is about time commitment, but maybe also about travel commitment and the role of the councillor?
Nominees must also submit their Statement of Interest.
I'd assume that this would also cover self-employed or not employed nominees, i.e., no employer letter possible/necessary. Introducing a "no more than one Councillor per employer" rule comes to mind, as well.
The nomination will be considered invalid if the Nomination Acceptance Form or any required documentation is not submitted by the end of the Nomination Acceptance Period. After the Nomination Acceptance Period is closed, the Selection Process Manager will publish a list of Candidates, along with records of the nominations and acceptances, on the ccNSO website. 6.2.1. Nomination Acceptance Form The Nomination Acceptance Form will include the following items: ● ● ● Nominee’s Full Name Nominee’s Affiliation Acceptance of the ccNSO Council Selection Guideline and ccNSO Rules, including the Council Removal Mechanism, as well as a commitment to keep the Statement of Interest up to date ● Acceptance of the ICANN Privacy Policy and ICANN website Terms and Conditions 7. Voting 7.1. Voting Process If there is only one (1) Candidate in an ICANN Geographic Region, that Candidate will be selected to serve on the Council. If there are two or more Candidates for the same ICANN Geographic Region, the selection will be made through a voting, following the timeline specified in Section 5 of this Guideline and the procedures outlined in Section 7. Voting will be conducted by Emissaries, who will select their preferred candidate on the ballot. The candidate receiving the most votes (plurality) will be declared the Councillor-elect. If two or more Candidates receive an equal number of votes, a run-off vote will be held between those candidates.
Maybe we should se an instant-run-off voting scheme?
During the voting process, a list of Territories participating in the selection process and their respective ICANN Geographic Regions may be published, indicating which ones have already voted.
I strongly object to this clause for the risk of undue influence on the election!
7.2. Quorum and results Only votes that are quorate shall be considered valid. To meet quorum, at least a majority of all Emissaries entitled to vote in the ICANN Geographic Region must have cast a vote. The Selection Process Manager will announce and publish the voting results on the ccNSO website. Voting results will be published using ballot IDs only, ensuring that the identity of each voter - including their email address - remains confidential. 8 8. Council Selection Report The Council Selection Report is prepared by the Selection Process Manager and provides a summary of the Council Selection Process. It includes: ● ● ● ● Records of the nomination process The list of candidates The voting results (if applicable) Any relevant observations or notes related to the selection process The report is submitted to the ccNSO Council for review and adoption. Once the Council adopts the Selection Process Report, the Chair of the Council will notify the ICANN Secretary of the selection. The adoption of the report by the Council marks the formal conclusion of the Council Selection Process. 9. Change of Affiliation Candidates and Councillors are required to maintain an up-to-date Statement of Interest (SoI), which includes their current affiliation. By submitting the SoI, they commit to updating it as needed. A Candidate or Councillor-elect who changes affiliation must inform the Chair of the Council. Upon such notification, the individual is deemed to have withdrawn from candidacy or from serving as a Councillor-elect. A Councillor serving on Council who changes affiliation during their term must notify the Chair of the Council. If the Chair is the one changing affiliation, the Vice-Chair(s) must be notified instead. The Councillor may continue to serve the remainder of their term unless one or both of the following conditions apply: ● At least 33% of the ccNSO members from the relevant ICANN Geographic Region object to the Councillor’s continued service.
This should be a third of the territories represented from that region, given that the description below rightfully involves teh Emissaries rather than the Representatives.
● The new employer objects to the Councillor’s continued service on the Council. To assess whether the Councillor can continue: ● Within one week of receiving the notification, the Chair or Vice-Chair(s) shall instruct the ccNSO Secretariat to consult the Emissaries from the relevant ICANN Geographic Region. ● Emissaries will be asked whether they support or object to the Councillor continuing to serve after the change of affiliation. ● Simultaneously, the Councillor is expected to obtain at least a statement of non-objection from their new employer within the same one-week period.
Here the purpose of the letter (see above) becomes very relevant: in particular a non-cc employer should understand the role of the Councillor, so "non-objection" might be a bit weak. I also observe that the previous employer, which might be a ccNSO member, will not be consulted for continued or discontinued support. It is my understanding that this is a change from previous practice, but it makes sense to me - still depending on what the nature of "support" is. [no further comments on subsequent sections] -----------------------------------------------------------------------------