Dear [email protected] I can answer your queries on behalf of the APNIC EC.
Election restart The Secretariat has already provided an explanation to the community on the configuration error discovered with the BigPulse system: https://orbit.apnic.net/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/thread/EBYEZ5KBYWF2SCGOJNZ6RWSO4CUUTA3M/ The error allowed Members to vote for four candidates instead of three. The right thing to do was to return the votes to those Members who had voted already, fix the error, and restart the election afresh to ensure a true and fair result. The actions taken ensured there was no impact on the election results. APNIC reported this issue to the Election Chair who was comfortable with APNIC’s course of action to rectify the misconfiguration. Election homepage The election homepage layout for 2024 followed a similar format as previous elections, by stating the candidates whose terms were expiring and providing a link to all nominated candidates. The Secretariat did consider the suggestions made on apnic-talk and subsequently decided to make some updates to improve readability. Annual Report publishing APNIC works to a financial year that runs January to December: a calendar year. This means the final accounts are not compiled and audited until January-February, and they are presented and approved by the EC at its February meeting. Historically, the Annual Report and audited financial accounts were released publicly on the day of the AGM. Following Member requests at APNIC 56 to bring forward the publication of the reports, APNIC took steps to release them at the earliest available date, which is following the February EC meeting. They cannot be released earlier given the timing of APNIC’s financial year and approval required by the EC at its meeting. However, as a reminder, all progress reporting of APNIC’s activities and financials are published in the EC minutes following each of the four EC meetings each year. There is also an online activity progress tracker published on the website providing visibility for Members. The EC is satisfied that there was no negative impact to the EC election or any material issues from the points you raise. The Election Chair and scrutineers reported no anomalies with the election process, and no dispute was raised with the Election Chair. Thank you for your interest in the EC Election process. Regards Kenny Huang EC Chair On Fri, Mar 1, 2024 at 9:48 AM <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear Mr Huang > > I would be grateful for your assistance. > > I have submitted a complaint about APNIC’S actions and alleged bias in the > 2024 EC elections. > > The Electoral Committee Chair has confirmed that it is not within the > committee’s remit to deal with these complaints. > > Could you please advise me to whom I should address my complaints? > > It would seem to be a significant oversight if there is no independent > body responsible for scrutinizing the actions of APNIC during the election > campaign. > > I imagine, as an elected member of the EC, you would consider this to be a > conflict of interest. But please do let me know if it is the elected > members of the EC who have responsibility to oversee APNIC’s actions. > > I would be grateful for your immediate response. > > Thank you > > Member of APNIC > > > > Dear Chair > > Thank you for your email. > > Could you advise which independent body does oversee the election process? > > The only point of referral is to the Electoral Committee and is the only > email address available to me. > > I would be grateful if you could confirm to whom I should be address my > serious concerns about the integrity of the election. > > As my complaint involves the actions of APNIC, I’m not sure they will > consider my complaints fairly or without bias. > > > Thank you for your assistance. > > > Dear the poster with [email protected] e-mail address, > > Thank you for your attention for the APNIC Executive Council Election. > > I understand you have several points which you want the committee to > address. The Electoral Committee was established by the recently revised > APNIC by-laws, particularly by its Article 35C, in order "to oversee the > nominations and nominee conduct during each Executive Council election". > The points you raised in your message are not under the committee's > mandate, therefore we are not able to take action for them. > > Additionally, you should clarify your name, identity and affiliation. > > Thank you for your understanding for these. > > All the Best, > MAEMURA Akinori, Chair of the APNIC EC Election Electoral Committee > > > On 2024/02/29 13:10, [email protected] wrote: > > > Adding Electoral Committee into the loop > > > 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. > > > > > _______________________________________________ > APNIC-talk - https://mailman.apnic.net/[email protected]/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > APNIC-talk - https://mailman.apnic.net/[email protected]/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > > > _______________________________________________ > APNIC-talk - https://mailman.apnic.net/[email protected]/ > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected]
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