ISPA, South Africa’s official internet Industry Representative Body (IRB), has shared its preferred candidates in the upcoming AfriNIC (The African Network Information Centre) elections for the board of Africa’s Regional Internet Registry (RIR).
Voting for AfriNIC’s board opened on Wednesday, 18 June. ISPA states that, while it has historically steered clear of making specific AfriNIC voting recommendations, the unusual nature of the current elections means it has decided to recommend that resource holders vote for a specific slate of candidates.
After AfriNIC had been without a functioning board for three years, the court-appointed receiver for AfriNIC announced that an election to reconstitute the organisation’s board of directors will take place on 23 June 2025 in Mauritius. Online voting is running until 23 June 2025.
For the current voting process to truly emerge as a positive development for the long-term success of one of the world’s five RIRs, ISPA believes the right people need to make up AfriNIC’s board.
After consultation with other stakeholders, colleagues and industry associations, ISPA’s board is endorsing the following list of candidates:
Seat one: North Africa – Candidate: Abdelaziz Hilali
Seat two: West Africa – Candidate: Emmanuel Adewale Adedokun
Seat three: Indian Ocean – Candidate: Kaleem Usmani
Seat four: Central Africa – Candidate: Laurent Ntumba
Seat five: Southern Africa – Candidate: Carla Sanderson
Seat six: Eastern Africa – Candidate: Fiona Asonga
Seat seven/eight: Region Independent – Candidates: Adewole David Ajao and Ben Roberts
ISPA notes that there are other nominees who are also well-qualified to serve on AfriNIC’s board, and the body’s failure to recommend those nominees should not be viewed as criticism of their candidacy.
More information can be found at AfriNIC website.
For more information from ISPA, contact secretariat@ispa.org.za.