AFRINIC election suspended, hundreds unable to vote

• Premature suspension of AFRINIC’s 2025 election prevented hundreds of members from casting their votes, effectively disenfranchising a large portion of the community.
• The suspension was triggered by a dispute over a single proxy vote, leading to concerns about election interference, breaches of confidentiality, and questions surrounding the legitimacy of duly notarized Powers of Attorney.

Hundreds of African IP address holders have complained that the premature suspension of the 2025 AFRINIC election meant their votes were not counted.

The AFRINIC board election of 2025 was suspended before the scheduled end of voting on June 23, after a concern was raised about a single vote, submitted by proxy. That suspension meant hundreds of voters were unable to cast votes, according to Number Resource Limited (NRL), a company representing many of the voting members.

In a letter seen by BTW Media, sent by NRL to the Nominating Committee, led by Simon Davenport KC, the NRL said: “At the moment suspension was called, NRL had only managed to cast roughly 20% of the total votes it was holding in Power of Attorney for members. In other words, the vast majority of NRS-affiliated members’ votes (around 80%) were never exercised. We fear that the premature halt to the voting effectively disenfranchised many legitimate members.” See also: AFRINIC crisis: when receiver becomes legal risk.

BTW also saw email evidence of complaints from members. One said: “We intended to exercise our voting rights through Number Resource Limited. However, due to the election suspension yesterday, our vote remained uncast. We respectfully request that you acknowledge our intention and include our vote in the final count.” See also: AfriNIC's Vanishing Member register.

Also read: AFRINIC elections 2025: Everything you need to know

Also read: AFRINIC election: 2nd attempt to delay voting fails

AFRINIC elections 2025: Number Resource Limited’s role

The NRL lists several concerns in the letter, and provides detail as to the nature of the proxy voting that it conducted for members.

“The idea behind NRL is to enable many resource members to act collectively by entrusting their voting power to a neutral, legally authorized entity,” it says. “Each member who chose to participate granted a duly notarized POA to NRL, allowing NRL to vote on their behalf as a bloc. This arrangement was intended to empower smaller or remote members, ensuring their voices are not lost due to inability to attend in person.”

AFRINIC elections 2025: A single disputed vote

The letter pointed out that the concern about one of its proxy votes started when an AFRINIC staff member contacted the voting member, breaching the usual confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements expected during elections.

The NRL also claimed that the member who then denied having granted its vote by proxy was incorrect in that denial. “This unsolicited contact during a sensitive voting process caused confusion. The member in question, when put on the spot, denied having authorized the Power of Attorney. We do not know what was said in that conversation – whether the member felt pressured, misunderstood the inquiry, or perhaps had second thoughts after external influence – but the outcome was that [they] publicly disavowed the Power of Attorney that had been submitted.”

Also read: AFRINIC elections 2025: ICANN is ‘inappropriate’, ‘unreasonable’ and ‘irresponsible’

Number Resource Limited: Officially notarized Powers Of Attorney

The NRL also explained how the Powers Of Attorney it obtained would meet even the most stringent checks. Where members agreed with their vision and wished to appoint NRS (via NRL) as their Power of Attorney, formal, legally-binding POA documents were created, then notarized by licensed notaries, and further authenticated with an Apostille (under the Hague convention) to ensure their acceptance internationally.

“We have maintained meticulous records of these POAs, including the notarized originals. Our intent was to leave no doubt about the authenticity of our Power of Attorney votes,” the NRL stated.

Also read: ICANN’s role in AFRINIC elections faces scrutiny, claims of interference

AFRINIC election 2025 next steps

Finally, the NRL said it would happily support and assist the NomCom by any means, should it wish to investigate further the nature of the POAs in its possession, or any detail of the election that just unfolded.

It also requested the election be resumed as early as possible, to allow the much-awaited reconstitution of the AFRINIC bard to take place.

Also read: Lu Heng, LARUS CEO, on AFRINIC elections: Clique control must end, decentralisation will ensure democracy

AFRINIC election background and context

The AFRINIC election 2025 is arguably the most important event in the African internet community for some years. The RIR was plunged into chaos when its board and CEO were disbanded in 2022, after accusations of mismanagement, corruption and harassment.

After years of litigation and legal toing and froing, an Official Receiver was appointed to help the RIR get back on its feet, with the instruction to conduct elections by June 23, 2025.

That has happened, but the controversies and operational shenanigans appear to remain.