- The June 2025 AFRINIC election was lawful and member-driven, yet its annulment under government instruction violated the Mauritius Companies Act.
- Genuine proxy voting reform must uphold rule of law, reject state interference, and protect Africa’s bottom-up Internet governance.
Protecting member choice: Clear rules, legal force and practical safeguards
Proxy voting exists to enable inclusive participation across AFRINIC’s wide and dispersed membership. A fair model must start from the principle that proxy votes are legitimate instruments of member representation, not loopholes to be exploited or pretexts for political annulment.
In the June 2025 poll, proxy mechanisms were used in line with AFRINIC’s established procedures and were functionally intact. Those proxy votes therefore deserve the same legal respect as in-person ballots. Reform should codify concise, unambiguous proxy rules in the constitution and election guidelines so that every stakeholder — member, election official and court — can interpret the same standard.
Practical safeguards should include a single, standardised proxy form tied to verified member records; a clear registration deadline that allows public inspection; and caps on the number of proxies one agent may hold. Candidates should be explicitly prohibited from acting as proxy holders.
Proxy authentication must be proportionate and accessible. Identity verification should rely on corporate records and member directories, with affordable notarisation alternatives for smaller members. The rules must specify proportional remedies for isolated proxy irregularities — if one proxy is contested, adjudicate that proxy, not annul the entire election.
Dispute resolution should follow a clear tiered process: internal review, independent arbitration, and judicial review. Each stage must be time-bound and transparent so that decisions are made promptly and publicly. Finally, proxy reforms must be enforceable under the Mauritius Companies Act. Courts must be able to uphold members’ statutory rights and prevent any administrative or political order from negating a valid election outcome
Also read: AFRINIC’s hidden scandal: How legal fees exposed a culture of corruption
Also read: Why AFRINIC’s election security needs stronger legal guarantees in Mauritius
Independent oversight, transparency and resisting political capture
Procedural clarity alone will not restore trust. Proxy voting reforms must also establish independent oversight and robust transparency measures.
AFRINIC should require end-to-end election audits, public anonymised proxy registries after poll close, and external verification of voter rolls and proxy custody records. Independent observers must have controlled access to proxy documentation, balancing confidentiality with accountability. These mechanisms ensure that, if disputes arise, evidence exists for members and courts to verify the process.
The events following the June 2025 election — a court-supervised, free and fair vote later annulled by a receiver acting on government instruction — show what happens when weak oversight meets political interference. The September rerun lacked lawful authority and replaced a member-driven decision with one shaped by the state. Recognising the June mandate and rejecting the September results are essential to preserve member sovereignty.
External actors calling for transparency while backing post-annulment processes risk legitimising state capture. The newly released ICP-2-related compliance papers from ICANN leadership compound this risk by creating mechanisms for external derecognition without clear accountability. Cloud Innovation’s call to initiate ICP-2 seeks not a new registry, but a lawful transition under an existing RIR if member consent and due process are maintained.
A fair proxy model for AFRINIC therefore depends on four pillars: clear and enforceable rules, independent auditing, fast and public dispute resolution, and legal protection against political manipulation. Only these measures can safeguard Africa’s bottom-up Internet governance from further state interference.
