Proposal Category: Process
Abstract
Two or three sentences that summarize the proposal.
This AIP establishes an election process for the Special Council. The proposed process aims to ensure that all candidates have an equal and fair opportunity to be nominated for the ApeCoin Special Council Election.
Motivation
A statement on why the APE Community should implement the proposal.
To advance the ApeCoin DAO’s path to decentralization, an election process that enables qualified community members to serve in the DAO’s leadership is required. This AIP covers the most essential pieces of that process. It aims to build critical infrastructure from which the DAO can grow.
Rationale
An explanation of how the proposal aligns with the APE Community’s mission and guiding values.
The long-term health of the ApeCoin DAO depends on a well-functioning nomination and election process for the Special Council. This AIP consolidates much of the great thinking the community has already put forth on this subject. That thinking is reflected below in the proposed specifications, as well as in the following guiding principles for writing this AIP:
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Focusing on the essentials, knowing that more nice-to-have yet complex additions (e.g., reporting requirements, gamified participation, working groups/subDAOs, complex vote-weighting techniques) can be addressed via follow-on AIPs at a later date.
- By keeping things simple, the likelihood of consensus can be enhanced while also
- decreasing risks like gridlock.
- Balancing stability and fluidity, recognizing that some continuity from one term to the next helps to maintain steady progress, while at the same time valuing the periodic cycling in of new members and ideas.
- Favor the tried and tested where there is not an obvious reason for doing otherwise – this will limit the amount of complementary infrastructure that needs to be built and new platforms the community will need to learn, which could reduce participation.
Key Terms
Definitions of any terms within the proposal that are unique to the proposal, new to the APE Community, and/or industry-specific.
Candidate: Candidates are the Nominees that become eligible for the elections process.
The Special Council Nomination Process: The AIP that establishes a nomination process for the Special Council.
Specifications
A detailed breakdown of the platforms and technologies that will be used.
Special Council Seats
- If this AIP passes, this is intended to occur one-time to determine which seats are up for election at the election cycles.
- Seat numbers will be assigned to existing Special Council members. These seat numbers will be from 1 to 5.
Election Cycles
- Timing and cadence of elections: Elections shall occur every 6 months.
- Nomination and election to occur over November & December; elected Special Council member(s) to start in January (“Cycle One”)
- Nomination and election to occur over May & June; elected Special Council member(s) to start in July (“Cycle Two”)
- The following seats will be up for election at these times:
- Cycle One: Seats 1, 2, & 3
- Cycle Two: Seats 4 & 5
- Rationale: Succession planning is paramount. A twice-yearly staggered process helps to maintain continuity for longer-term objectives and avoids a cataclysmic change wherein every Special Council seat is up for re-election at once. This should be balanced against the risk of low participation-rates from excessively frequent elections.
Election Terms & Limits
- Term: Each seat is for one-year term.
- Term limit: An existing Special Council member may nominate themselves for re-election and be elected to the Special Council up to 2 terms in a row.
- Following the term limit, the former Special Council member must wait at least 1 election cycle prior to being able to nominate themselves for the Special Council. In other words, if the term limit ended on Cycle One, the Special Council member may nominate themselves for the next Cycle Two election.
- Rationale: The one-year term-length was outlined in AIP-1. One-year term lengths allow for a balance of long-term orientation while encouraging active participation from Special Council members. A two-year term-limit affords ample time to steward long-term projects and strategy in the event the community supports the member reaching the maximum duration.
Election Vote on Snapshot
- Candidates for Special Council are determined in The Special Council Nomination Process. Candidate profiles will be in the Discourse category Special Council Elections > Election Candidates.
- Voting will take place on Snapshot
- Each Candidate will be an option on the Snapshot vote
- Each ApeCoin DAO member can only select one Candidate and that Candidate will receive all of such ApeCoin DAO member’s voting power
- An ApeCoin DAO member who has delegated their votes to another member may cast a vote themselves and override the delegated vote
- The vote will be released at the Weekly AIP Release and will close at the following Weekly Voting Close
- No other AIPs will go up for vote at this Weekly AIP Release, and all approved AIPs for vote will be released at the following Weekly AIP Release
- The top 3 voted Candidates in Cycle One and top 2 voted Candidates in Cycle Two shall be elected to the Special Council, subject to adjustments from off-cycle departures or lack of Candidates.
Off-Cycle Departures
- In the event of the voluntary or involuntary departure of a Special Council member, that seat will be incorporated into the upcoming election cycle, after which it will return to the same election cycle schedule that it would have been on if the departing member had remained.
- Any partial terms for a Special Council member from off-cycle departures will not be counted towards the term limit. For example, if a Special Council seat is in Cycle One but a Candidate is elected to replace the Special Council member in Cycle Two, then the 6 months served by the newly elected Special Council member will not count towards the term limit.
Steps to Implement
The steps to implement the proposal, including associated costs, manpower, and other resources for each step where applicable.
• A nomination process is required to determine the Candidates eligible for election, as described in The Special Council Nomination Process.
• Candidates will be placed in the appropriate Discourse category, Election Candidates.
• Each Special Council member will be assigned a seat number.
• A Snapshot vote is created with the Candidates at the appropriate Weekly AIP Release.
Timeline
Relevant timing details, including but not limited to start date, milestones, and completion dates.
The first election shall take place in December, after The Special Council Nomination Process occurs in November and December. Please see The Special Council Nomination Process for estimated dates and timelines for the first nomination process.
If this AIP and The Special Council Nomination Process passes, then the estimated Snapshot vote to determine Candidates will take place between Dec 15-21. As a result, the Snapshot for election would be estimated to take place Dec 22-28.
Seat 1, 2, & 3 shall begin in January 2023.
Overall Cost
The total cost to implement the proposal.
There are no costs to implement this AIP.
Nonetheless, each Special Council member shall receive compensation as stated in AIP-1, or $20,833 of ApeCoin equivalent per month for the term.