Dear ccNSO members, Below is the latest status update regarding the ongoing election on the ccNSO Council's recommendation to adopt the proposed policy on the retirement of ccTLDs. Total Ballots Cast (including duplicates): 99 Ballots Counted (excluding duplicates): 92 Voters Who Haven't Voted: 80 You may notice that the 50% quorum requirement has been met in the meanwhile. That being said, all votes matter, and this is a final reminder to please cast your vote, in case you have not done so yet. Voting closes Wednesday, 28 July 2021 (23:59 UTC). Below we also added some frequently asked questions and answers about this election. FAQ FAQ#1. What is this vote about? To determine whether the ccNSO Community supports the proposed policy on the retirement of ccTLDs FAQ#2. Who can vote? The ballots have been sent to the e-mail address of the primary contacts of each ccNSO Member. Questions? Contact joke.braeken@icann.org<mailto:joke.braeken@icann.org> FAQ#3. When will the election close? Voting ends 28 July 2021, at 23:59 UTC FAQ#4. What is the policy about? 1. The trigger event for a ccTLD retirement process. The retirement process starts with the removal of a country code from the ISO3166-1 list of country names. For exceptionally reserved domain names, the trigger event is the fact that the ISO Maintenance Agency makes changes to the reserved 2-letter codes. For IDN ccTLDs, the trigger event will be identified under the ccNSO policy on the (de)selection of IDN ccTLD strings (ccPDP4). Note: · the trigger is the removal of a country code, not the country code Top Level Domain · RFC1591: IANA (the IANA Functions Operator) is not in the business of determining what is and what is not a country. ISO has a process to determine this. 1. Impact of the trigger event on the Root Zone Database. Once a country code is removed from the ISO3166-1 list, the ccTLD MUST be removed from the DNS rootzone database. The rationale for this is that the link between the ISO3166-list and the list of ccTLDs should be maintained. Also, the ISO Maintenance Agency should be able to assign a 2-letter code to a new Territory. 2. ccTLD retirement process. Once there is a trigger event, the IANA Functions Operator sends a notice of retirement to the ccTLD Manager, with an invitation to discuss a retirement plan. The removal of the ccTLD from the root zone is foreseen to happen 5 years after the retirement notice. The ccTLD manager - together with PTI - can potentially agree to extend this deadline, with an additional 5 years. FAQ#5. Does this policy apply to all ccTLDs? The policy is directed at ICANN, and is within scope of the ccNSO policy development process, as stated in Annex C of the ICANN Bylaws. FAQ#6. Where can I read more about the ongoing election? To learn more about the ongoing election, the proposed policy on the retirement of ccTLDs, as well as ccNSO Council's Recommendation to adopt the proposed policy, go to https://ccnso.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-06jul21-en.htm<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/ccnso.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-06jul21-en.htm__;!!PtGJab4!t6T8CmePIrzYgIjpjFjbmID_Pzcdeg7i97lLrGCyJx0EJfU6UsbuVp7x0QeXIoaWN4801QAP$> Best regards, Joke Braeken ccNSO Policy Advisor joke.braeken@icann.org