Summary

  • The Address Supporting Organization Address Council opened nominations on 15 September for the next regular, three-year Seat 9 term, expected to start after ICANN’s 2027 annual meeting.
  • Oscar Robles is completing Alan Barrett’s separate vacancy term through ICANN90; the new call’s regional restriction is tied to the country nominated under ICANN’s bylaw rule.

Two appointment clocks

The Address Supporting Organization Address Council (ASO AC) is asking for candidates for Seat 9 on the ICANN Board. The call is for a regular three-year term beginning at the conclusion of the 2027 ICANN Annual Meeting, expected in November. Its 15 December 2026 deadline is not a deadline for Oscar Robles’s interim appointment: he was selected after Alan Barrett’s death to serve the remainder of Barrett’s term.

The ASO record places that vacancy service through the close of ICANN90’s Annual General Meeting on 4 November 2027 and until a successor has been designated and qualified. It also says a vacancy appointment does not count toward the Board’s three-consecutive-term limit. The new process is therefore the next full term, not another decision on Robles’s selection. The vacancy was filled through an extraordinary route based on ASO AC member nominations, without a public call or comment period; the current call follows the ordinary Section 9.4 procedure.

A country rule, not an RIR ballot

Seat 10 is held by Christian Kaufmann, listed as coming from the RIPE NCC region through ICANN93 in October 2028. ICANN Bylaws Section 7.2(c) bars two directors nominated by one Supporting Organization from the same country or countries in the same ICANN Geographic Region. The ASO therefore says a Seat 9 candidate’s country used for nomination purposes cannot be in the RIPE NCC Geographic Region.

The rule does not reduce to a person’s employer or current RIR membership. A nominee with more than one citizenship, or with over five years’ domicile in a country where they are not a citizen, may identify an eligible country or domicile for nomination purposes; only one domicile may be identified. The call specifies a candidate’s country for this test, not a regional vote to elect a delegate.

Anyone may nominate any person, including themselves. A nominee must accept, complete the certification and consent to ICANN-managed due diligence. The ASO AC Qualification Review Committee decides who meets the applicable requirements; a nomination alone does not make someone a qualified candidate. The ASO says it will publish information on nominees who complete the paperwork and qualify.

The schedule is still proposed

The nomination phase ends at 23:59 UTC on 15 December. The proposed public-comment window runs from 16 December through 14 March 2027, overlapping interviews scheduled from 15 January to 14 March. Deliberations are proposed for 15 March–29 April, voting for 30 April–7 May, and an announcement around 15 May. Written or videoconference interviews may be required. If fewer than two qualified candidates remain, nominations will be extended; due diligence or other process needs may also move the dates.

The call describes an ICANN director as serving individually in ICANN’s best interests, not as a representative of the ASO, an RIR, an employer or another constituency. The upcoming selection is thus a staged appointment of a fiduciary, not a transfer of regional voting authority. As of 14 October, the published record names no qualified slate or outcome.

Sources

ASO nomination call; RIPE NCC announcement; 2026 vacancy selection record; current ASO Board roster; ICANN Bylaws; ASO selection procedures.