Hello Alick,
In most other organisations, when there is only a single candidate, when nominations close the single candidate is declared elected unopposed and there is no vote.
That is not the case for the ICANN Board elections.
From the bylaws, Article X, section 3, paragraph 6: http://www.icann.org/general/bylaws.htm#X
"The GNSO Council shall make selections to fill Seats 13 and 14 on the ICANN Board by written ballot or by action at a meeting; any such selection must have affirmative votes comprising a majority of the votes of all the members of the GNSO Council. Notification of the GNSO Council's selections shall be given by the GNSO Chair in writing to the ICANN Secretary, consistent with Article VI, Sections 8(4) and 12(1)." The appointment is for three years. Council members should ensure that the candidate meets the selection criteria for a director, and has support from the GNSO community. In terms of process, we can either use an email vote (to be ratified by a subsequent Council meeting) or we simply hold a vote during a Council meeting. While we could hold a vote in the meeting on 17 March, some Council members may feel they need time to interview the candidate and discuss the candidate with members of the GNSO community prior to making a decision.
What happens if the sole candidate does not get a majority of the votes?
There are two options: (1) we re-open the nomination period, and make an effort to seek candidates for the Board. (2) the sole candidate addresses any concerns that some Council members may have had, and the vote is re-held. The situation is really no different to that if you have only one current candidate for a job. If that candidate does not pass a job interview, reference check etc, an organisation would seek more candidates. Regards, Bruce Tonkin