Having been in an affiliate for more than 18 years and having witnessed several assembly votes, the question of how to evaluate neutral votes has always been a dilemma.

There is no general rule and we cannot say we are shocked at how they are calculated because the neutral votes include the votes of those who do not want to vote against but have doubts, of those who want to vote against but find something to save but also of those who is undecided.

It is important to clarify the rules first and first say that the majority must be that of all voters or of yes/no votes.

But here: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Movement_Charter/Ratification/Voting/Frequently_asked_questions

I read: "Selecting "-" does not count for or against ratification - it is essentially a neutral or abstain vote - but it will allow you to leave a comment".

It clearly indicates that neutral votes in theory cannot be placed either among the votes against or among the votes for. Therefore they increase the quorum but the majority is calculated only among the explicit votes.

The FAQ seems clear to me.

Greetings

I'm shocked that "the neutral votes don’t count towards the total number of votes cast", which contradicts the rules of any other referendum I know. Everything was done to get the vote past an arbitrary line, first reducing the number of the votes required for the quorum from 4% to 2%, and now this. It would be interesting to recalculate the real percentage.

Philip,

I'm happy that my irony didn't escape you - the revolutions are not done via convening a bureaucratic body. I think that what we see is the protest vote of the people unhappy with WMF for whatever reason + affiliates who want not just the slice of the pie, but the pie itself + the usual suspects.

-- 
Ilario Valdelli
Skype: valdelli
Tel: +41764821371