AFRINIC
AFRINIC election crisis triggered by one proxy: The phantom vote that spiraled out of control
The ‘phantom proxy’ vote: Origin, timeline, dispute AFRINIC, the African Network Information Centre based in Mauritius, held its long-delayed board election on 23 June 2025. Hundreds of members participated, many assigning voting rights via powers of attorney (POAs) to proxies. The most prominent pr…
Headline
The ‘phantom proxy’ vote: Origin, timeline, dispute AFRINIC, the African Network Information Centre based in Mauritius, held its long-delayed board election on 23 June 2025. Hundreds of members participated, many assigning voting rights via powers of attorney (POAs) to proxies.…
Context
AFRINIC, the African Network Information Centre based in Mauritius, held its long-delayed board election on 23 June 2025. Hundreds of members participated, many assigning voting rights via powers of attorney (POAs) to proxies. The most prominent proxy collector was Number Resource Limited (NRL), a firm representing dozens of small African internet resource holders. Just minutes before polls closed, AFRINIC’s Nomination Committee (NomCom) abruptly halted voting. The cited cause: questions about the validity of a single proxy vote. AFRINIC staff reportedly contacted a resource holder.
Evidence
Pending intelligence enrichment.
Analysis
The so-called “phantom proxy” immediately cast doubt on hundreds of ballots handled via POAs. The logic behind this decision has since drawn sharp criticism. A single questionable proxy vote, unverified through any formal audit, was used to cast doubt on hundreds of legitimate ballots. NRL stated that it had managed to cast only 20% of its total proxies before the vote was stopped, meaning the overwhelming majority of its members’ votes were never exercised. Many delegates, mostly from smaller or under-resourced African networks, lost their right to vote though they did nothing wrong. Stopping a continental election because of one unresolved query has been called by stakeholders a response that was too strong, not reasonable, and not in line with democratic values. Some critics say the process could still have stayed fair if the vote had gone ahead and the questionable ballot had been looked into after.Instead, the decision to suspend was seen by many as a political manoeuvre that undermined the rights of AFRINIC’s broader membership and effectively silenced hundreds of compliant, legitimate voices. As the saying goes: “You don’t burn down the house because one window might be cracked.” Yet that’s exactly what NomCom did — halting the process designed to bring AFRINIC back to democratic legitimacy, all because of one contested form that could have easily been investigated post-election. NomCom, led by Simon Davenport KC, initiated the halt after fielding the staff report. The alarm appears to have been raised by AFRINIC’s internal election committee staff, who contacted a member directly to verify the POA. This real-time challenge, though well-intentioned, derailed the election process before any post-vote audit could occur.
Key Points
- A disputed proxy vote led AFRINIC to stop its 2025 board elections and later cancel the results, even though hundreds of members had already voted.
- ICANN and other global internet governance groups are now asking for answers. They also warned they may step in if AFRINIC does not show clear and open action.
Actions
Pending intelligence enrichment.
