Dear Wikimedia Community Ireland User Group,
I am reaching out to offer up the space for you to contribute to our
community’s decision on whether or not to exercise our vote in the upcoming
Board Election.
<https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2025/Candida…>
As you may be aware, there has been much discussion surrounding the Board’s
decision to remove certain candidates from the ballot. Within the global
community, there is currently a movement towards boycotting the vote, for
reasons discussed in this thread
<https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org…>
and summarised below.
I am reaching out not to sway your opinion in any way, but rather to equip
you with some helpful information that you can use to make up your own mind
and have your say. Your opinions on this are important, and we will vote on
this as a group to decide the best course of action for Wikimedia Community
Ireland to take.
So far, we have discerned the following options:
1.
We abstain from voting in this election
2.
We vote, with an accompanying comment that raises our concerns and
alignment with the misgivings raised by the boycott
3.
We vote as normal
We will be discussing and voting on this at our Community Meeting next week
next Tuesday the 21st of October at 6 pm online.
-
Link to join:
https://meet.google.com/mnw-pubq-xyc?authuser=0&hs=122&ijlm=1760458294636
I understand that not everyone can make the community meeting, so in this
case, I urge you to reach out to me via email (
sophiefitzpatrick(a)wikimediacommunity.com) with your opinion and vote on the
course of action (abstain, vote with comment or vote) you think we should
take for the election on October 22nd.
Before making your decision, please familiarise yourself with the situation
by taking a look through the links offered below and considering the
summary of reasons this boycott effort has come about and the Wikimedia
Foundation’s response.
Reasoning for the Boycott and Concerns Raised by Community Members
-
Wikimedians have raised concerns about the disqualification of 2
candidates and the vetting process that occurred (one of whom was the only
female candidate and one who was the only openly queer candidate in the
election)
-
The lack of credible explanation, public justification and transparency
for these disqualifications amidst misgivings amongst community members in
regards to political bias, thus underemining the legitimacy of the
selection process.
-
Concerns surrounding these actions being incompatible with the
Foundation's commitment to the values of inclusion and diversity as
outlined in the 2030 Strategy’s guiding principles.
-
Concerns surrounding the incompatibility of certain viewpoints, namely,
pro-Palestinian and pro-transparency, are incompatible with Board
membership.
-
Concerns that these actions will set a dangerous precedent for democracy
within Wikimedia governance.
-
Wikimedians are calling for the investigation or suspension of the
election.
The Wikimedia Foundation's Response
-
The Board considers a wide range of criteria in evaluating eligible
candidates and future leaders. That is why the process includes many
inputs, such as background checks, media checks, reference checks, and
interviews with the candidates, as we have done in past years. Consistent
with the values of our movement, the board has always been committed to
free expression, diverse viewpoints, and a range of perspectives,
backgrounds and experiences. The Board has always had members – historic
and current – who have been critics of the Foundation and of the Board
itself. This is the nature of our governance system, and this will not
change.
-
The criteria for candidate assessment is subjective e.g. a candidate's
judgment, discernment, discretion, and ability to engage in the duties
and requirements of being a Trustee
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Legal_and_Fiduciary_Duties_for_W…>,
some of which can be complex and difficult to measure.
-
They highlighted that conversations with potential candidates covered
topics like conflicts of interest, fiduciary obligations of Trustees
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Legal_and_Fiduciary_Duties_for_W…>,
a track record of commitment to Wikimedia's core principles and values
(e.g., upholding NPOV, managing COIs, etc.), as well as a candidate's
understanding of the Board's Code of Conduct
<https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Code_of_Con…>
and other governance policies, and what these policies require of Trustees.
-
The Chair has also offered the explanation for the disqualification that
after the background checks were completed and the interviews were
conducted, each candidate received a communication from the Board which
outlined the concerns and was given an opportunity to answer and comment
before the Board made the final decision. The candidates have each been
provided a summary and an explanation of the Board’s decision, along with
the reasons for not providing these summaries publicly. The Foundation has
explained that they also communicated that there are no reasons discovered
that would stop the candidates in question from running again (the next
elections are scheduled for 2027 for 4 seats), after they work on the
issues communicated.
Further information
Objections to the 2025 WMF Board election removals, including links to
rejected candidates' statements:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Objections_to_the_2025_WMF_Board_election_r…
Q&A issued by the WMF about the Board’s decision on the 2025 final Ballot:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard…'s_decision_on_the_2025_final_ballot
Timeline of Events:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Learning_from_events_and_reactions_surround…
Mailing list thread where current discussions are taking place:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org…
Current Candidates:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_elections/2025/Candida…
Current Board Members:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation/Board_of_Trustees#Curr…
Reform Petition Page:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/hyperkitty/list/wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org…
Please note that these points are a summary of issues raised by the global
Wikimedia community and are not designed to align with any course of
action, but weigh up both sides. I addition, they rely solely on the
information that is publicly available. All opinions and votes are welcome.
Along with any other suggestions about what our course of action should be.
*I wholeheartedly invite you to have your say and participate as a member
of Wikimedia Community Ireland. *
Kind regards,
Sophie Fitzpatrick - Projects and Communications Manager, Wikimedia
Community Ireland
wikimedia.ie
*Wikimedia **Community Ireland - *is the national affiliate group for the
global Wikimedia open knowledge movement. *Eolas Oscailte, Oideachas agus
Gníomhaíocht Dhigiteach.*
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