AFRINIC election delayed after ISP Association wins injunction over voter rights

Polling was supposed to start on Monday - moved to Wednesday after court revisited the case

UPDATED A court in Mauritius has postponed the long-awaited election at the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC).

AFRINIC’s Nomination Committee, the group of UK-based barristers overseeing the election, on Monday published a communique [PDF] that states a Judge of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of Mauritius last week issued an injunction that “prohibits and restrains e-voting being opened on 16 June and in-person voting being conducted on 23 June.”

The judge did so after the Tanzanian Internet Service Providers Association (TISPA) sought an interim order to delay the poll because, as it explained in a Monday post, “Certain AFRINIC resource members, including those who joined after September 2023, have been denied voting rights in the upcoming election.” TISPA asserts that AFRINIC’s bylaws do not allow the exclusion of those members. The Association also argues that a September 2023 Order by the Supreme Court of Mauritius required AFRNIC to follow its established governance protocols.

The AFRINIC communique advises members that the court has not suspended the election, but warns “it is not known at this time when e-voting and in-person voting will proceed.”

“However, the situation could change and change quickly,” the communique states. “Resource Members are therefore encouraged to monitor developments closely.”

AFRINIC is one of the world’s five regional internet registries, the governance bodies that delegate and manage IP addresses and autonomous systems numbers in co-ordination with ICANN.

The African registry has suffered years of dysfunction and due to a complicated series of court cases has been unable to convene a board or appoint a CEO since 2023.

A receiver appointed to get AFRINIC back on its feet arranged for elections this month. The process of vetting candidates and arranging the poll proceeded smoothly until last week, when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) called for changes to the roster of officials overseeing the vote after .

ICANN learned that members of the Nominations Committee overseeing the election may have a conflict of interest and called for their replacement.

Another concern ICANN expressed relates to a company called Cloud Innovation, which brought several cases against AFRINIC. In early April, Mauritius’ Corporate and Business Registration Department (CBRD) listed Cloud Innovation as a shareholding member of AFRINIC, which ICANN felt was inappropriate.

The Registration Department has since removed Cloud Innovation from AFRINIC’s listing [PDF].

The Register has sought comment from TISPA, Cloud Innovation, and ICANN and will update this story if we receive a substantive response. ®

UPDATED AT 01:15 UTC JUNE 19th

AFRINIC on Wednesday advised its members that online voting commenced on June 18th after the Mauritius Supreme Court set aside the interim order that paused the election.

In-person voting will take place on June 23rd, as previously planned.

The Register did not receive a response from TISPA or Cloud Innovation. ICANN told us it is aware of the situation and continues its demand for fair and transparent elections at AFRINIC, as outlined in its recent letter on the matter.