Steering Committee Election Process 2024

The MANRS Participants will appoint three members to its MANRS Steering Committee, in accordance with the MANRS Community Charter. This provides an opportunity for the MANRS community and its participating organizations to select the representatives who will oversee and develop the initiative that is improving the resilience and security of the Internet’s global routing system.

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

The MANRS Participants are those organizations defined in Article 1.4 of the MANRS Community Charter. Their designated contact persons are those as notified to the MANRS Secretariat and recorded in the MANRS Observatory.

The Global Cyber Alliance (GCA) serves as the MANRS Secretariat.

1. Nominations

1.1 The nomination period will open on 1 October 2024 at 00:01 UTC and will close on 5 November 2024 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 all outgoing members of the MANRS Steering Committee are also eligible, subject to the limitation of the number of consecutive terms per Article 3.4 of the MANRS Community Charter .

1.3 Prospective candidates may either self-nominate or be nominated by any MANRS Participant. All nominations must be submitted via the official nomination 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 three (3) positions to be appointed on the MANRS Steering Committee, in accordance with Article 3.3 of the MANRS Community Charter.

2.2 If three or fewer candidates are nominated during the nomination period, they shall be appointed unopposed–subject to the confirmation of the Global Cyber Alliance. If more than three candidates are nominated during the nomination period, a secret ballot shall be held using secure online voting provided by BigPulse.

2.3 The voting method will be a Single Transferable Vote (STV) whereby voters rank candidates in descending order of preference on their ballots.

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

2.5 The ballot period will open on 11 November 2024 at 00:01 UTC and will close on 13 November 2024 at 23:59 UTC.

2.6 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.

2.7 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.

2.8 The results of the ballot will be used to appoint the members of the MANRS Steering Committee. The three highest ranked candidates will be appointed for a 3-year term each, running from 7 November 2024 to 6 November 2027–subject to confirmation of the Global Cyber Alliance.

3. MANRS Steering Committee Membership

3.1 The appointed members, along with the existing six (6) members, will constitute the MANRS Steering Committee from 7 November 2024.

3.2 In the event that less than nine (9) positions have been filled, the Global Cyber Alliance may make appointments as necessary.

3.3 At the earliest opportunity, the members of the Steering Committee will determine which of their number shall serve as Chair and which as Deputy Chair until 3 November 2025.

3.4 All 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 Global Cyber Alliance 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 Global Cyber Alliance’s legal team;
4.1.4 to declare the election results.

Michael Abejuela, General Counsel at ARIN, has agreed to serve as the Election Chair.

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 Election 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.