Hi Tapani,

My understanding is the same as yours for the scenarios you’ve laid out below. The only instance in which a rule prevents an individual from holding two seats simultaneously is Article 11.3(a) of the Bylaws stating that no individual may hold more than one Council seat at the same time. Thankfully, that at least, is clear and unambiguous. Would hate to think of the potential consequences if it weren’t.

If I may deviate a little from the intent of this thread, I’d like to add a few thoughts that have troubled me over the years:

First, The GNSO Operating Procedures (See section 7.1.2.j) prohibit a natural or legal person from being a voting member in more than one GNSO “Group” (Group in the OPs refers to both Stakeholder Groups and Constituencies). Since the creation of NPOC, the NCSG and its two Constituencies has been consistently in conflict with this requirement, as the NCSG Charter allows for full membership and voting rights in up to 3 of its Constituencies. As things currently stand, this isn’t procedurally correct, and imo should likely stop. This rule only applies to “Groups” within the GNSO, so does not apply to natural or legal persons who are voting members of NCSG and its Constituencies, but also voting members of other ICANN SOs/ACs. …, which takes me to my next point…,

Second, Although there is no rule prohibiting it, I find that there is an inherent Conflict-Of-Interest in NCSG elected officers holding similar positions in other SOs/ACs, such as ALAC or any of the At-Large RALOs, GAC, SSAC, etc… I say this because although there is no rule prohibiting it, the NCSG is consistently in conflict with these ACs in terms of the policy recommendations we advocate for.

At one point in time, a given individual holding office in the NCSG and one of those ACs may be lobbied by the members he/she represents to adopt and advocate conflicting policy positions. I find this to be problematic. In the future, if a revision of the NCSG Charter is conducted, I plan on raising the issue.

I also find it problematic for our members to alternate between these positions - such as someone elected to serve on ALAC transitioning to a GNSO Council role or vice versa. Speaking for myself, I’d very much like our elected officers to be dedicated to the interests that the NCSG advocates for, and not confuse or dilute these with conflicting interests belonging to other parts of the ICANN community. For the time being, this is decided by our members, and how they vote. This is not a bad solution, but there’s no guarantee that this being a COI (which it is imo) may be clear to everyone.

Thanks.

Amr

> On Jun 3, 2020, at 9:30 AM, Tapani Tarvainen <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> 
> I was asked if it is possible to run for multiple positions at the
> same time in NCSG/NCUC/NPOC elections.
> 
> As far as I can tell there's no rule against it, but there are
> better rule-readers than me here (hi Amr) so...
> 
> This is not purely theoretical, even though it is not
> relevant to the present elections, and it would be good
> to be clear about it well before the next round.
> 
> And this is a good time to collect all things that might
> cause problems in elections, loopholes that should be closed &c.
> After the elections are over nobody will have energy to think
> about them.
> 
> Note, the question is about running for the positions, not about
> serving in them at the same time: that is a separate issue
> (interesting in its own right to be sure).
> 
> That is, one could run for several positions and, if elected
> to more than one, choose one of them at that point.
> 
> And I'm not talking about whether or not it would be a good idea,
> but about what current rules actually say about it. (We might
> end up wanting to change them, but that's for later.)
> 
> There are a few distinct cases:
> 
> First, running for Council (or NCSG Chair) and either
> NCUC EC or NPOC ExCom (or Chair of either) at the same time.
> 
> As far as I can see the three elections are formally distinct
> so one could indeed run in them all.
> 
> In the past when the elections were ran at different times one could
> resign from the previously-held position upon being elected to a new
> one, but now when they're simultaneous the situation at least feels
> different (and may even formally be in some cases).
> 
> Second, running for positions in both NCUC and NPOC.
> There's clearly no rule against that, indeed there's precedent
> in even serving in both at once.
> 
> Third, could one run for both Council and NCSG Chair at
> the same time? I don't see any rule against that either.
> 
> Fourth, running simultaneously for NCUC EC and NCUC Chair, or NPOC
> ExCom and NPOC Chair, or for multiple positions in NPOC ExCom
> (theoretically possible unlike in NCUC, where they're tied to
> regions).
> 
> NPOC does have a rule excluding councillors from ExCom and people from
> holding multiple ExCom positions at the same time, but it is not clear
> that it applies to *running* for them at the same time (arguably it
> could be so read though).
> 
> NCUC doesn't seem to have such rules at all, although NCUC bylaws
> implicitly prevent NCUC Chair from being a regional representative at
> the same time and (less clearly) NCSG Chair as well, but I see nothing
> explicit there against councillors being EC members, let alone against
> running for both.
> 
> NCSG likewise: there's certainly no rule against NCSG EC members being
> also constituency ExCom/EC members or Chairs (indeed it has happened
> quite often in the past), but I can't see any rule against a
> constituency EC member being NCSG Chair either, or even a councillor
> being NCSG Chair. Even if some such limitations could be implied, I
> don't see anything there either against running for multiple positions
> like that, with the intent of serving only in one.
> 
> Have I missed or misread something?
> 
> --
> Tapani Tarvainen