MANRS Steering Committee Appointment Process 2021

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24 September 2021, Version 1.3

MANRS Steering Committee Appointment Process v1.3Download

The MANRS initiative is undertaking a process to appoint a number of members to its new MANRS Steering Committee, that is being created in accordance with the MANRS Community Charter. This provides an opportunity for the MANRS community and its participating organisations to select their representatives who will help develop the future direction of this important initiative that is improving the resilience and security of the Internet’s global routing system.

The functions of the Steering Committee and responsibilities of its members are outlined in Section 3 of the MANRS Community Charter.

The MANRS Participants are those organisations defined in Section 1.4 of the MANRS Community Charter. Their designated contact persons are those as notified to the MANRS Secretariat and recorded in the MANRS Database.

The MANRS Secretariat is defined in Section 1.7 of the MANRS Community Charter.

1. Nominations

1.1  The nomination period will open on 1 October 2021 at 00.01 UTC and will close on 28 October 2021 at 23.59 UTC.

1.2  Only individual persons may be nominated although there are no restrictions on who may be nominated. It is not necessary to be a representative of a MANRS Participant, and members of the current MANRS Advisory Group are also eligible.

1.3  Prospective candidates may either self-nominate or be nominated by any MANRS Participant. All nominations must be submitted on the nominations form.

1.4  Upon the nomination period closing, a list of all the nominated candidates will be posted on the MANRS website and notified by email to the designated contact person(s) of each MANRS Participant.

2. Election

2.1  There are seven (7) positions to be appointed on the MANRS Steering Committee.

2.2  In accordance with Section 3.3 of the MANRS Community Charter, one-third of the Steering Committee membership will be elected every year. In order to stagger the initial terms of appointment, 1 candidate will be appointed for a 3-year term, 3 candidates will be appointed for a 2-year term each, and 3 candidates will be appointed for a 1-year term each.

2.3  If only one candidate is nominated during the nomination period, they shall be appointed unopposed – subject to the confirmation of the Internet Society. If two or more candidates are nominated during the nomination period, a secret ballot shall be held using secure online voting provided by BigPulse.

2.4  The voting method will be Single Transferable Vote (STV) whereby voters rank candidates in order of preference on their ballots. Voters must rank at least one candidate for their ballot to be valid, but are not required to rank every candidate.

2.5  A link to the online ballot will be notified by email to the designated contact person at each MANRS Participant prior to the opening of the ballot period.

2.6  The ballot period will open on 3 November 2021 at 00.01 UTC and will close on 5 November 2021 at 23.59 UTC.

2.7  Each MANRS Participant may submit one ballot each, expressing at least one preference but up to as many preferences as there are candidates listed on the ballot.

2.8  Upon the ballot period closing, the results will be posted on the MANRS website and notified by email to the designated contact person(s) of each MANRS Participant, with a link provided to the BigPulse data.

2.9  The results of the ballot results will be used to appoint the members of the MANRS Steering Committee – subject to confirmation of the Internet Society – as follows:


2.9.1  The highest ranked candidate will be appointed for a 3-year term running from 15 November 2021 to 31 October 2024.

2.9.2  Any candidates ranked in second, third and fourth place will be appointed for a 2-year term running from 15 November 2021 to 31 October 2023.

2.9.3  Any candidates ranked in fifth, sixth and seventh place will be appointed for a 1-year term running from 15 November 2021 to 31 October 2022.

3. Formation of MANRS Steering Committee

3.1  The appointed members along with the two Co-Chairs of the MANRS Advisory Group will constitute the MANRS Steering Committee from 15 November 2021. This will replace the MANRS Advisory Group at this time.

3.2  In the event that less than nine positions have been filled, the Internet Society may make appointments as necessary.

3.3  The Co-Chairs of the current MANRS Advisory Group will serve a 3-year term on the MANRS Steering Committee from 15 November to 31 October 2024. At the earliest opportunity, the other members of the Steering Committee will determine which of the Co-Chairs shall serve as Chair and which as Deputy Chair from 15 November to 31 October 2022.

3.4  All initial members of the MANRS Steering Committee may serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms, as defined in Section 3.4 of the MANRS Community Charter.

4. Election Supervision & Dispute Resolution

4.1  The nomination and election process will be supervised by an Election Chair who shall be an individual appointed by the Internet Society and shall not be from a MANRS Participant. They shall have the following responsibilities:

4.1.1  to oversee the nomination and election process;

4.1.2  to identify any anomalies or issues during the nomination and election process;

4.1.3  to resolve any complaints or disputes with assistance from the Internet Society’s legal team;

4.1.4  to declare the election results.Craig Ng (APNIC) <[email protected]> will act as the Election Chair.
Any complaints or disputes should be submitted to Joseph Hall <[email protected]>

4.2  The MANRS Secretariat will perform the role of Election Officer. It shall have the following responsibilities:

4.2.1  to compile the electoral roll;

4.2.2  to administer the call for nominations and publish the list of candidates;

4.2.3  to manage the online voting process;

4.2.4  to provide the Electoral Chair with the online voting results upon the conclusion of the voting period;

4.2.5  to handle any queries about the nomination and election process in a timely manner, and take appropriate action where necessary.

4.3  Any complaint or dispute related to the nomination and election processes must be lodged in writing with the Election Chair before the declaration of the election results. Only election candidates and the designated contact persons of MANRS Participants may lodge a notice of complaint or dispute.