AFRINIC-The Regional Internet Registry for Africa has finally successfully conducted its 2025 Board of Directors Elections! The elections were held from September 10 to 12, 2025. This fresh leadership marks the beginning of a new era after years of turbulence and uncertainty for the organization.

AFRINIC’s elections come after four challenging years characterized by internal disputes and lawsuits that severely hampered the organization’s ability to function as Africa’s regional internet registry. The 2025 elections, conducted under judicial and community supervision, represent a long-awaited course correction, promising to restore stability, trust, and continuity in managing vital internet resources across Africa.

The newly elected board brings together a wealth of expertise from across the continent and beyond:

Seat 1: Abdelaziz HILALI (North Africa)
Seat 2: Adewale Adedokun Emmanuel (West Africa)
Seat 3: Kaleem Ahmed Usmani (Indian Ocean)
Seat 4: Laurent NTUMBA KAYEMBA (Central Africa)
Seat 5: Carla Sanderson (Southern Africa)
Seat 6: Dr. Fiona Asonga, PhD (East Africa)
Seat 7: Ben Roberts (Non-regional/Independent 2)
Seat 8: Adewole Adewole David Ajao (Non-regional/Independent 1)

The new Board members were recommended by stakeholders for their experience and commitment to upholding members’ rights and internet resource governance. This is a huge responsibility, and the jury is still out on whether they will rescue AFRINIC from its current tribulations. It is also interesting to note that South Africa has the largest voting bloc in the AFRINIC region since they have the majority of registered members. The slate of candidates recommended by the Internet Service Providers’ Association of SA (ISPA) in June 2025 was elected 100%. Some other interesting statistics are that out of a total of 2430 members, slightly over 500 participated in the process.

While we celebrate this momentous victory, the new AFRINIC board must urgently address several priorities to restore trust, ensure stability, and rebuild Africa’s internet governance. Immediate focus should be on institutional transparency, fair resource allocation, legal reforms for IP ownership, and community engagement.

The board must prioritize reestablishing routine operations for the allocation and management of critical internet resources like IPv4, IPv6, and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs). Clearing backlogs and addressing urgent requests from members who have been awaiting service for months due to previous disruptions is essential to restoring member confidence.

The board must commit to reforms while reviewing and updating policies in consultation with the community to prevent a repeat of previous resource mismanagement challenges.

Actively involving governments, regulators, technical communities, enterprises, academia, civil society, and the general internet users in decision-making will foster resilience and buy-in from the full African internet ecosystem. Maintaining and strengthening the multistakeholder model in policy development balances diverse interests and preserves AFRINIC’s legitimacy.

Promoting digital inclusion policies by supporting connectivity expansion and ensuring fair access to internet resources for underserved and rural regions is vital. Investing in training and education for members and stakeholders will boost technical capacity across Africa.

With this dynamic new board, AFRINIC stands poised to overcome past obstacles and chart a constructive path forward. The new board can restore confidence in AFRINIC and empower it to guide Africa’s digital future with integrity and fairness. The entire tech community across Africa is looking forward to more responsive, secure, and reliable stewardship of our internet resources for years to come.