- Nominations open for eight seats, across African regions and “region-independent” slots
- Nomination period runs from 14 to 28 August 2025
What happened: AFRINIC’s NomCom launches call for board candidate nominations
AFRINIC’s Nomination Committee has launched the call for candidate nominations for its 2025 Board election. The announcement went out on 15 August 2025 with the nomination window scheduled from 14 to 28 August 2025. Eight board seats are now open: one each for North, West, Indian Ocean, Central, Southern, and Eastern Africa, plus two region-independent positions. Only individuals residing in, and nationals of, the specified sub-regions can stand for the regional seats.
The two region-independent seats are open to qualified African nationals residing in any sub-region. Each elected candidate will serve a term of up to three years. Nominees must submit their applications—including nomination and declaration forms—via AFRINIC’s secure election portal before the deadline at 23:59 UTC on 28 August.
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Why it’s important
This controversial call for nominations comes amid deep disputes over AFRINIC’s governance, with many stakeholders arguing the new election process is unlawful and undermines prior results. Critics insist the original June elections should be upheld rather than replaced, warning that repeated attempts to reconstitute AFRINIC’s leadership risk further eroding trust.
While regional representation and the addition of two region-independent seats are framed as efforts to broaden diversity, opponents argue these measures are being used to justify a redo of elections that had already been decided. The strict residency and nationality requirements, rather than safeguarding integrity, are viewed by some as tools to influence outcomes in a legally questionable process.
Even the “transparent” two-week nomination window has drawn criticism, with members noting that clarity of timeline does not resolve the underlying legitimacy crisis. Detractors contend that AFRINIC’s bylaws are being selectively interpreted under receivership, and that true trust can only be rebuilt by honoring the lawful June elections rather than pushing forward with what many consider an invalid re-run.
