[EURO-Discuss] URGENT: Draft statement to ALAC on At Large Board Director Election Process

Wed Oct 20 11:49:15 UTC 2010

Hi everyone
Just wanted to suggest something about the letter as an observer...

It would probably be better to be upfront and simply state that there isn't
enough time to make a considered and sober choice for our Director, and
request that we have the Director be seated properly sometime later. I don't
think that "VISA issues" should be used as an excuse, (given that it may not
be true, many countries do not need a visa to enter Colombia)  nor should
the new Director be seated virtually - it's too important an occasion to be
rushed.

Jacqueline

On Tue, Oct 19, 2010 at 8:13 PM, Olivier MJ Crepin-Leblond <ocl at gih.com>wrote:

>
>
> Dear all,
>
> at the EURALO Conference call today, the issue of timings for the At Large
> Board Director Election Process took most of the debate time.
> In fact, it became the most important issue, prompting the other issues to
> be re-scheduled for our next EURALO Conference call.
>
> One immediate and urgent action item was to write a letter to the ALAC
> Chair and to the ALAC, asking for more time to be given to the election
> process. Wolf Ludwig and I wrote this together after the conference call.
> The draft letter's contents explain the matter in further detail.
>
> Please be so kind to take the time to read the proposed statement/letter.
> What the EURALO Board needs today is your feedback by tonight, ie.
> Wednesday 20 October 2010, 20:00 CEST, in order to be able to send this by
> Thursday.
> We realise that the time for comments is really short, but this is required
> as the clock is ticking and we have to ask for more time as soon as
> possible.
>
> Many thanks for your understanding in this crucial but exciting time for At
> Large.
>
> Kindest regards,
>
> Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond
> EURALO Secretariat
>
> --- start of draft statement ---
>
> EURALO request to ALAC on At Large Board Director Election Process
> 20/10/2010
>
> We are writing to you with regards to the proposed schedule for the
> election of the At Large Selected Board Position.
>
> The schedule which appears to have been proposed is:
> - 28 October 2010: Board Meeting, where the Board is expected to approve
> the Bylaw changes, and if so:
> - 3 November 2010: BCEC is scheduled to announce the slate of 3-7
> candidates retained for election
> - 3-12 November 2010 (10 days): candidates able to reach out to the At
> Large community (campaigning)
> - 15-19 November 2010 (5 days): Election takes place
>
> It is understood that the period 12-15 November (4 days) might be used
> for any RALO election process. If added to the 5 days scheduled for the
> election, this provides a total of 10 days for voting - assuming voting
> can be considered legitimate when candidates have barely had a chance to
> present themselves.
>
> We refer you to the At Large January 2010 White Paper Recommendation 4:
>
> "The Board seat should be selected by the ALAC plus the RALO Chairs. The
> RALO-appointed ALAC members and the RALO Chairs may be directed by
> their ALSes if the RALO desires (and in accordance with their RoP).
> This methodology gives ALSes large control over who is selected,
> without the complexity of two-level vote weighting and centralized ALS
> elector verification. The vote should be by secret ballot."
>
> In the interest of empowerment of our ALSes, it is the desire of the
> EURALO Board to conduct a vote of our ALSes directing the EURALO Chair
> on his vote.
>
> Whilst no mimimum vote timing is defined in the EURALO Rules of
> Procedures, clause 11.18.1 of the EURALO by-laws states that a
> sufficient amount of time is required for all members to record a vote
> on any matter. It is therefore good practice to provide at least 10 days
> of voting time for our ALSes. This appears to be clearly incompatible
> with the currently proposed ALAC schedule of only 4 days' voting time.
>
> Whilst we understand that the proposed schedule takes into account a
> number of constraints in order to allow the At Large elected Director to
> take their seat on the last day of the Cartagena Meeting on Friday, 10
> December 2010, we consider it unwise to hurry the process at the
> possible expense of a legitimate vote. ALSes need to be informed in
> time. Campaigning needs to be given enough time for Question/Answer
> sessions. Volunteers in ALSes need to find the time to make a sound
> decision for what is arguably one of At Large's most important decisions
> of recent years.
>
> We therefore suggest the following course of action:
>
> * the voting process be given more time, beyond the 15-19 November period.
> An extension of the Election until 30th November 2010 would provide more
> time for ALSes to cast their vote. Indeed, we believe that it would
> provide greater legitimacy to the process, thanks to a truly bottom-up
> empowerment. It will allow for voting time to fall closer in line with
> other ICANN processes requiring public input. We emphasize this further
> than standard procedure: it is a matter of credibility to our members
> and to the At Large community.
>
> * ICANN should be informed that an At Large Elected Director taking its
> seat on the Board after the end of the Cartagena meeting might not be
> able to make it to the meeting in person due to VISA issues, and
> provisions should therefore be made for that person to participate
> remotely, by Webcam or other appropriate means.
>
> * A clear and concise explanation of the voting process and schedule
> should be published as soon as possible, with an explanation of the
> procedure for a RALO petition (if required) including a flow chart to
> help ALSes understand how the process will take place. A further
> explanation of the multiple round voting should be detailed, bearing in
> mind the possibility of RALOs needing to call upon their membership
> between each election round. Should ALS balloting by RALOs not be
> possible for each voting round, this should be explained as soon as
> possible in order for RALOs to devise alternative voting strategies at
> short notice (weighted voting being one possible solution)
>
> Thank you for your consideration on this very important subject. Getting
> this process right is of particular importance since it has a direct
> impact on the legitimacy of At Large and the At Large elected Board
> Director. Whilst we do not dispute the fact that it is important that an
> At Large elected Board Director takes their seat in Cartagena, we would
> like the process itself to be as equitable, transparent and credible to
> our stakeholders.
>
> --- end of draft statement ---
>
>
>
>
>
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