Two major internet governance bodies – the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA) of South Africa – have expressed “grave concern” over the integrity of the African Network Information Centre’s (AFRINIC’s) board election, held in Mauritius on 23 June.
AFRINIC has since “made the necessary decision” to annul the current election process to safeguard its principles of transparency and fairness.
Headquartered in in Ebene, Mauritius, AFRINIC is the regional internet registry for Africa and the Indian Ocean region. Its core responsibilities include the allocation and management of internet number resources, primarily IP addresses and autonomous system numbers, within its service region.
It also provides support, training and community outreach to help build a resilient and secure internet infrastructure in Africa.
ICANN, in a sharply-worded letter from president and CEO Kurt Erik Lindqvist, put AFRINIC formally on notice, warning the election process may have violated key governance standards and could trigger a full compliance review.
Meanwhile, ISPA called for the election to be nullified, raised allegations of systemic abuse of voting procedures and opened a criminal case with Mauritian police.
“It is with grave concern that we are once again required to write to you regarding the conduct of the election of the AFRINIC board of directors,” says Lindqvist in the letter addressed to Gowtamsingh Dabee, appointed receiver at AFRINIC.
“Despite our previous efforts to engage you in a collaborative process or to support your efforts in creating a fair election process, we find that the reports regarding the AFRINIC elections are quite alarming.”
He adds that ICANN has not yet initiated a compliance review of AFRINIC under the Implementation and Assessment Procedures.
“However, due to the shocking allegations and complaints of conduct surrounding the AFRINIC board of directors election, with this letter ICANN is formally putting AFRINIC on notice that a compliance review may well be necessary.
“We encourage your immediate attention to the issues set forth in this letter. We require a thorough and fully substantiated response by no later than close of business in Mauritius on 26 June 2025, and in any event before any further action is taken on recommencing the election process. This deadline is firm given the urgency and severity of the situation,” Lindqvist notes.
Meeting expectations
He points out that ICANN takes issue with reports it is receiving regarding the conduct of the AFRINIC election that apparently culminated with an in-person vote on 23 June 2025 in Mauritius.
“If the reports are true, those could serve as the basis for ICANN’s initiation of a compliance review. They raise serious questions of AFRINIC’s ability to maintain compliance with its obligations under ICP-2, as well as AFRINIC’s ongoing ability to act in alignment with its bylaws and whether AFRINIC remains an entity that is capable of responsibly managing the numbering resources with which it has been entrusted.”
Among the issues raised, Lindqvist points out that ICANN was copied on some communications to the receiver, or received copies thereof, describing the challenges faced in obtaining necessary documentation to register to vote within the e-voting portion of the AFRINIC elections.
ICANN notes AFRINIC’s bylaws allow a member to proxy for up to five others during in-person voting. However, it says, the 2025 election process deviated from precedent by permitting individuals with powers of attorney (POAs) to vote on behalf of unlimited members.
Reports, including AFRINIC’s live video feed, show attendees carrying large numbers of POAs, Lindqvist says, adding that some resource members claim their votes were cast without consent, with allegations of fraudulent POAs emerging both during and after the vote.
ICANN received reports that as e-voting resumed around 18 June 2025, members were contacted by Numbers Resource Society representatives promoting endorsed candidates – suggesting unauthorised access to the voter roll. One such communication even used AFRINIC’s logo, Lindqviststates.
He says no official update has been posted on AFRINIC’s website, but the nomination committee informed members that the vote was “frozen” at 17:32 on 23 June due to emerging concerns, pending further enquiries.
These issues raise serious concerns about fraud and undermine confidence in AFRINIC’s ability to run fair elections, he states.
ICANN warns that failing to address them transparently could threaten AFRINIC’s credibility and independence as a regional internet registry.
“An election process that presents significant opportunity for fraudulent conduct and ballot stuffing raises immediate and grave concerns that AFRINIC is operating outside of the confidence and support of its resource members,” Lindqvist says.
“Any failure in properly and transparently addressing this situation risks AFRINIC’s ability to treat its members impartially and equally, and assuring AFRINIC’s operations are independent of influences that seek to move AFRINIC’s policy to positions that are counter to the global coordination of the numbering system.”
‘Potential fraud’
In a statement yesterday, ISPA says during the in-person AFRINIC elections, serious problems with the election process became apparent. This included:
- Individuals arriving with more than 800 purported POA for AFRINIC members. (AFRINIC has fewer than 2 400 members in total).
- A duly authorised representative of a resource holder attempting to vote, only to be informed that another person had already submitted a vote on their behalf thanks to a POA, which that resource holder had not provided to any third-party.
- A representative of a resource holder, learning that a POA had been submitted on their behalf, found that particular POA – the existence of which had already been recorded by AFRINIC staff – had been mysteriously removed from the record by the time a copy was requested.
It adds there have been multiple additional reports from other organisations around Africa that individuals appear to have voted on their behalf based on seemingly fraudulent POAs.
“These concerns were drawn to the attention of the chairs of AFRINIC’s nominations and elections committees during the course of voting on Monday,” says ISPA.
“While the chairperson of the nominations committee did eventually ‘suspend’ voting, it has become abundantly clear that the option for unlimited in-person voting based on unverified powers of attorney has opened up the AFRINIC election to manipulation and potential fraud. Consequently, ISPA’s attorney opened a criminal case with the Mauritian police on Monday evening.”
Upholding transparency
In a statement, AFRINIC acknowledges it has received feedback and expressions of concern from several stakeholders regarding potential irregularities related to voter documentation.
According to the organisation, these concerns have been formally reported to the appropriate authorities for investigation.
“Over the past days, I have engaged with relevant authorities and carefully listened to the perspectives shared by our members,” says Dabee.
“Our shared priority is clear: upholding the core principles of transparency, fairness and the best interests of AFRINIC and its entire membership. To safeguard these principles and ensure the unquestionable legitimacy of our organisation, I have made the necessary decision to forthwith annul the current election process.
“Concurrently, to maintain stability and continuity during this critical period, I am petitioning the Supreme Court of Mauritius for a limited extension of the current mandate solely to allow for the proper organisation and execution of new, fully-verified elections taking on board all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe.”
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