Dear Electoral Committee,
Would the Committee be as kind enough to provide a full explanation on
the number of issues below that go to the integrity of the 2024 EC
Elections?
1. APNIC have confirmed that there was an issue with the outsourced
voting provider. Whilst we note that the issues have nothing to do with
the committee or APNIC, could the committee confirm:
A) the nature of the problem
B) how the problem was identified and what action was taken
C) how many voters were impacted
D) that all of the nullified votes have been re-cast
E) that no voter has lost their right to vote
F) what communication, if any, was provided to the candidates about this
issue
G) they will provide copies of all communications to APNIC membership
(group and individuals) about the problem (please ensure that any
personal information such as names, emails and other contact details are
redacted).
2. Alleged bias on the EC Homepage favouring incumbent candidates
You will have noted a post on the APNIC Mailing List questioning why
APNIC favoured three of the five candidates on the election homepage by
prominently promoting the incumbent candidates at the expense of the two
other candidates. We note that APNIC have now amended the homepage by
listing all five candidates fairly.
Could the committee confirm the following:
A) does the Electoral Committee approve APNIC EC Election content before
publication?
B) were the Committee advised that a complaint about bias had been made?
If so, when were the committee advised?
C) did the Committee instruct APNIC to make changes to the website or
did APNIC make the changes independently from the committee?
D) what communication has the committee or APNIC had with the impacted
candidates?
E) i) have APNIC or the committee apologised to the impacted candidates?
ii)Have any offers of recourse been made to the impacted candidates?
F) Does the committee accept that the APNIC home page displayed bias? If
yes, please explain why. If no, please explain why.
G) What recommendations, if any, will the Electoral Committee, be making
to APNIC secretariat on how to remove bias from future elections?
3) Publication of Annual Report and Audited Account four days before
the end of the election
You will note complaints were raised about the timing of the publication
of the annual report and audited accounts. The complaint here is not
that the reports and accounts were published but when they were
published towards the end of the election process.
The EC are meant to be accountable for the report and accounts. It is
impossible for them to be held to account when the publications are
released towards the election campaign. Voters who had already voted
may have wished to change their mind. This has raised legitimate
concerns about bias.
Can you confirm:
A) does the committee believe that the information contained in the
report and accounts were of material relevance to the election? If yes,
why? If no, why?
B) were you aware of the intended timing of the publication of these
documents?
C) did the electoral committee raise any concerns about the timing of
publication and the impact of the fairness?
D) do you agree that the timing of the publications had an impact on the
fairness election? If yes, why? If no, why?
E) does the committee understand why some people who voted at the
beginning of the campaign felt that they didn't have full information
available to them at the time they voted?
F) does the Electoral Committee have a view on the timing of these
publications or the timing of future elections to allow for the
community to review the documents before voting?
On all of these points, could the Election Committee confirm it will be
investigating and providing a report to be available to the whole
community covering both the issues as well as recommendations for how
APNIC can improve the integrity of their elections going forward
When will this report be ready??
I would appreciate a full reply. In replying, could you confirm whether
the response was written by the committee itself, APNIC Secretariat
(staff or consultants) or any other individual or organisation for
example legal counsel.
May I take this opportunity to thank you all for your service to the
election integrity and for acting on the Electoral Committee? It is an
important role which the community respects and these questions are
presented in the spirit of cooperation and transparency to ensure the
integrity of the APNIC EC election.
Many thanks for your assistance.
_______________________________________________
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