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2023 GAC Vice-Chairs Election
The annual GAC Leadership election cycle begins with the opening of an extensive nomination period at the end of the ICANN77 Policy Forum and concludes with a balloting period before and during the ICANN Annual General Meeting (AGM) at ICANN78.
This year’s leadership elections are open for the positions of five GAC Vice-Chairs who serve one-year terms.
Nomination Period
The nomination period starts on 16 June 2023 and closes at 23:59 UTC on 6 September 2023.
This web page provides detailed information about the nomination and balloting processes and will be updated as events warrant.
Pertinent information regarding the nomination process is set forth as follows:
- Self-nominations or third-party nominations for the Chair and Vice-Chair positions should be made by email to the GAC membership mailing list – gac@icann.org. A nominating email should be clearly titled as “GAC Vice-Chair Nomination". Candidates can only be nominated during the nomination period.
- Individuals nominated by a third party will be asked by ICANN GAC Support staff to confirm their acceptance of the nomination and willingness to stand for election. Self-nominations will not require that confirmation.
- The ICANN GAC Support staff will keep track of the nominations on the GAC web site (see below).
- The eligibility requirement stated in GAC Operating Principle 22, that GAC Chair and Vice Chair candidates be “accredited representatives” has, in practice, been taken to mean that GAC Member Primary Representatives, Alternate Representatives and Advisors are eligible for nomination and election to serve.
- Two reminders about the nomination period will be sent to the GAC membership list – the first about half way through the nomination period and a second reminder one week prior to the close of the nomination period.
- If the number of valid nominations are equal to or less than the number of open leadership positions, no balloting will be necessary and the nominated candidate(s) will be elected by acclamation.
- If there are more nominations than seats available for a particular leadership position, then balloting will be conducted to fill the position. Any balloting will take place by electronic means as provided for in GAC Operating Principles 34 and 35.
- In addition to keeping track of the nominations on the GAC web site, within three days of the close of the nomination period, the ICANN GAC Support staff will inform the membership of the need for an election by ballots or acclamation.
- Nominated candidates will have the opportunity to provide their CVs/Resumes or to otherwise explain their qualification and interest to the full committee.
Balloting Period
If necessary, 2 October through 22 October 2023 (ending during ICANN78)
Elections
A voting/balloting process to elect five Vice-Chairs will be held before and during the ICANN78 ICANN Meeting (October 2023).
There will be no physical voting available for this election. All votes will be cast electronically, which allows for vote-casting at a date and time that suits the individual voters, between the opening and closing dates of the election.
After the election has closed, the GAC Support Staff will review and confirm the voting results and announce the result of the election under the supervision of the GAC Chair (Principle 34). The staff review process will include checking to ensure that all votes are cast by eligible GAC Representatives. Election results shall be determined by simple majority. For the election of Vice Chairs, the five (5) candidates who gather the most votes will be appointed as Vice Chairs.
Tied Ballots
In the case of a tied election (two candidates receive the same number of votes) that prevents a selection to be determined, a second balloting period shall be held. The second ballot shall be restricted to the candidates who are subject to the tied vote for the remaining position.
Eligibility to Vote
Only GAC Representatives are eligible to vote (Principle 16). GAC Representatives, Alternate Representatives, and Advisors are listed on the GAC website at: https://gac.icann.org/about/members
GAC Observers are NOT eligible to vote (Principle 16). GAC Observers are listed on the GAC website at: https://gac.icann.org/about/members
Any questions about the voting process should be directed to GAC Support Staff at: gac-staff@icann.org.
Votes placed by any person whose name is not listed on the GAC website will be deemed invalid – although the electronic voting system should prevent this from happening as the system used for the electronic voting will be populated only with the email addresses of the Representatives for each GAC Member. The system then sends invites for election participation to only those emails.
Confirming Designated Voters
GAC Members have until Friday 29 September 2023 at 23:59 UTC to ensure the details listed on the website are correct for purposes of the election. Any revisions or corrections to the list should be sent in an email to gac-staff@icann.org.
Some Representatives may opt to defer to another delegation member to fulfill the voting role. This intention must be expressed by the Representative by the same deadline as above to gac-staff@icann.org.
The individual representative email address listed on the GAC website will be used unless a notification of another email address for this purpose is received by the same deadline as above.
List of GAC Vice-Chairs Nominee(s)
| Person Nominated | Nominator | Date of Nomination |
| Pär Brumark | Self-nomination | 19 July 2023 |
| Zeina Bou Harb | Self-nomination | 20 July 2023 |
| Thiago Dal-Toe | Self-nomination | 25 July 2023 |
| WANG Lang | Self-nomination | 4 September 2023 |
| Ken-Ying Tseng | Wen-Fong, Tsen | 5 September 2023 |
| Tomboye Ibrahim | Francis Cubahiro | 5 September 2023 |
| Nigel Hickson | Self-nomination | 5 September 2023 |
| Christine Arida | Manal Ismail | 6 September 2023 |
After the close of the balloting period at 23:59 UTC on Sunday 22 October 2023, a total of 119 votes had been received and recorded in the TALLY voting system. Pursuant to GAC Operating Principle #32, the election outcome is confirmed as “valid” as “more than 1/3 of the GAC Members participate[d] in the voting”. The vote distribution was as follows:
The resulting vote totals were:
- Candidate Pär Brumark - 34 Votes
- Candidate Zeina Bou Harb - 60 Votes
- Candidate Thiago Dal-Toe - 56 Votes
- Candidate WANG Lang - 68 Votes
- Candidate Ken-Ying Tseng - 19 Votes
- Candidate Tomboye Ibrahim - 52 Votes
- Candidate Nigel Hickson - 77 Votes
- Candidate Christine Arida - 64 Votes
As a result of the voting, Zeina Bou Harb, Thiago Dal-Toe, WANG Lang, Nigel Hickson, and Christine Arida will be Vice Chairs for the upcoming term.
Effective at the close of the ICANN79 meeting, the new GAC Leadership team will be:
Chair:
- Nicolas Caballero (Paraguay) (Continuing 1st term)
Vice Chairs:
- Nigel Hickson (United Kingdom) (2nd term)
- WANG Lang (China) (2nd term)
- Zeina Bou Harb (Lebanon) (2nd term)
- Christine Arida (Egypt) (1st term)
- Thiago Dal-Toe (Colombia) (1st term)
Thank you to all eight candidates for stepping forward to express a willingness to serve the work of the Committee.