Governance
AFRINIC’s election collapse: Courts overruled, ICANN intrudes
African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC)’s 2025 board election was supposed to be a turning point. After three years without formal leadership, the vote was meant to restore governance and credibility to Africa’s sole Regional Internet Registry. Instead, it exposed a deepening conflict between j…
Headline
African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC)’s 2025 board election was supposed to be a turning point. After three years without formal leadership, the vote was meant to restore governance and credibility to Africa’s sole Regional Internet Registry. Instead, it exposed a…
Context
African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC)’s 2025 board election was supposed to be a turning point. After three years without formal leadership, the vote was meant to restore governance and credibility to Africa’s sole Regional Internet Registry. Instead, it exposed a deepening conflict between judicial authority, international pressure, and domestic political intervention, plunging the continent’s internet governance into further uncertainty. Read more: AFRINIC election suspended, hundreds unable to vote
Evidence
Pending intelligence enrichment.
Analysis
In early 2025, the Mauritian Supreme Court placed AFRINIC under receivership and authorised a court-supervised election. The court approved the receiver’s election timeline, acknowledged the legitimacy of resource members and proxy processes, and gave judicial backing to proceed. On 23 June, voting began as planned. Hundreds of members, including many represented via notarised proxies through Number Resource Limited, cast their votes. Just before polls closed, however, the election was suspended due to concerns over one disputed proxy. A few days later, the court-appointed receiver announced the annulment of the entire process. Despite the court’s clear mandate for an election, its own supervised process was halted by internal actors. No court order demanded annulment. Yet, its authority was quietly sidelined, and the path to restoring AFRINIC’s governance was again obstructed. Read more: The story of AFRINIC: How Africa’s internet ideal was destroyed from within
Key Points
- AFRINIC’s court-approved election was annulled over one disputed proxy, sidelining hundreds of verified votes and legal oversight.
- ICANN continued pressuring AFRINIC despite court rejection, raising concerns about international interference in African internet governance.
- Community members call for transparency and recognition of annulled results, warning external influence is eroding trust in AFRINIC’s legitimacy.
Actions
Pending intelligence enrichment.
