Voi Council
We are excited to introduce the Voi Council, the legislative branch of Voi's government, and the heart of Voi’s democracy. This Council plays a pivotal role in shaping our ecosystem by creating, amending, and overseeing the implementation of governance rules, policies, and legislative acts that ensure Voi’s growth while upholding its constitutional foundation and core values. Here we present a first draft of what we envision to be the final version of the Voi Council. It will take us multiple iterations to get here, but we look forward to receiving the community’s feedback on whether or not you believe we are headed in the right direction. All relevant documents pertinent to understanding the structure, function, and responsibilities of the Voi Council can be found for review and feedback at the end of this announcement.
Structure and Function of the Voi Council
The Voi Council is designed to be representative of the primary types of members in our community and their economic activity. Seats are allocated for individuals representing key community groups and activities within Voi’s ecosystem, such as maintaining the network, power-users, entrepreneurs, partnerships, mainstream users, and impact-oriented organizations.
As mentioned, it will take multiple iterations and time to get to the above anticipated model for Voi’s future Council. While we will not start off with individuals representing every interest group, our intention is that overtime Voi’s ecosystem grows such that representation is required in each of the above categories and skill sets, skill sets being niche interest groups in each of the larger represented categories.
To begin, this September 2024, the Council will launch by having at least one individual representing Voi’s network users, power users, and entrepreneurs with longer-term future representation coming from mainstream users and impact-oriented communities and organizations perhaps a year down the road.
The size and composition of these groups will evolve based on the ecosystem's changing needs and circumstances. It is very much feasible that additional categories of seats will be added or changed over time.
The size and composition of these groups will evolve based on the ecosystem's changing needs and circumstances. It is very much feasible that additional categories of seats will be added or changed over time.
To learn more about the structure and function of Voi’s Council refer here.
Powers and Functions of the Voi Council
The Voi Council, at a high-level, serves as the branch in Voi’s tri-partite system that provides legislative oversight, financial management, and significant checks on the executive power of Voi’s Treasury (more coming soon about Voi’s Treasury in subsequent announcements!). Here is a brief overview of the Council’s primary functions:
- Legislative Authority: The Council has the power to create, amend, and repeal governance rules and regulations, forming the legal framework within which the ecosystem operates. They are also responsible for proposing and voting on new policies, system upgrades, and protocol changes.
- Budgetary Control: The Council advises the blockchain's budget, passes budgetary proposals from the Treasury (the branch of Voi’s governance holding executive power) oversees the blockchain’s financial decisions, and ensures fiscal responsibility. This includes reviewing proposals from the Voi community and allocating funds with the network’s strategic goals.
- Checks and Balances: The Council exercises checks on the Voi Treasury, through mechanisms like approval/denial of strategic initiatives and the ability to impeach members of the Treasury for misconduct.The Council can amend the constitution, override vetoes from the Treasury with a sufficient majority, and has the power to impeach and remove members of the Treasury under specific circumstances. This ensures the ecosystem's rules and constitution evolve with the community's needs.
To learn more about the Council’s responsibilities refer here.
Terms of Office
To begin, the first iteration of Voi’s Council will consist of committee-appointed individuals that will serve a 1-year term. This varies from Voi’s long-term vision of having members of Voi’s Council serve 2-year terms, with the possibility of re-election for up to three consecutive terms. The rationale for launching the first iteration of the Council at a smaller scale with committee appointed individuals for a shorter term is to allow us to get started before much of the governance infrastructure, such as the grants and funding portal, have been built. At the one year mark, these individuals will need to be re-elected by the community for a 2-year term to continue holding a seat within Voi’s Council.
It is anticipated and we hope to achieve having roughly 50% of the Council either re-elected or turned over once a year during Voi’s annual elections in the long-term. This allows the ideal balance between veteran council members and fresh perspectives. This staggered approach also ensures continuity and effective legislative function.
In the event of a vacancy during the first year post launch of the Council, committees will reappoint individuals to finish the one-year term. In the future, during the normal two-year term cycle, if a council member quits or is impeached, the judicial branch will appoint someone to fill this vacancy until they can be re-elected during the next annual Council election.
Council Elections
Elections will take place annually to fill any seats that have completed their terms. Candidates will specify which seats they are running for, with clear eligibility criteria to ensure they possess the necessary experience, commitment, aptitude, and reputational standing to effectively participate in Voi’s governance. Every year elections will commence with the official Voi Debates. Candidates are encouraged to participate in community Q&A sessions and debates to discuss their vision, qualifications, and respond to any concerns voiced by community members. Elections and voting will be held on the Voi portal, with a 2-week voting period allowing voters to change their ballot until the deadline.
To learn more about Voi’s election process refer here.
Candidate Eligibility Criteria
- Seat Functions and Roles: Candidates must possess the necessary experience and background to fill one of Voi’s council seats.
- Personal Staking Requirement: Candidates must have staked $10,000 worth of Voi at the time of submitting their application for candidacy and keep this staked for the duration of their term.
- Reputation and Conduct: Candidates must be in good standing within the community with no history of violating the Voi Network’s Code of Conduct.
- Verification and Transparency: Candidates must undergo a verification process to confirm their identity and active participation in the network.
First Council Formation
Voi’s first Councill will consist of active members of one of Voi’s core committees - Builders, Networks, NFTs, or the DeFi committee - and be voted on by committee members themselves. A single seat has been reserved for Builders, Networks, NFTs and/or DeFi, and Partnerships. The first iteration of Voi’s Council is structured such that each Council member holds the same power in the Council. In other words, as you will see in the next section and later linked documents, delegated power will become a future reality and key feature of Voi’s governance and democratic process once we are able to complete the governance portal in its entirety.
Looking Ahead: Future Council Formation & Delegate Voting
In the future, the ultimate goal is for the election process to consist of two phases. The first phase involves]s selecting candidates to fill seats on the Voi Council, as shown in the above diagram. Candidates will need to specify the seat they are running for based on their function, role, or economic layer within the community. Voters must stake Voi at the time of voting, with votes tallied based on a one-Voi to one-Vote principle. The more Voi staked, the greater the influence in the election process. This ensures a fair and weighted voting system reflecting the community's commitment and engagement.
Community Delegated Power
Once successful candidates are elected and onboarded onto the Council, the second phase of the election process begins, where Voi community members delegate political power across members of the elected council. This unique feature and highlight of Voi’s community-driven governance system allows each and every community member to influence legislative decision-making by staking their Voi tokens and allocating power among council members commensurate with the amount of Voi stake against each candidate. The political power a council member holds is thus proportional to the amount of Voi staked in their favor, albeit not directly but rather using an exponential decay model to help balance out potentially extreme differences in power held by different council members.
Voi’s governance framework in the future has a goal of being dynamic - community members will be able to reallocate their staked Voi as needed whenever they would like, ensuring a dynamic and responsive governance structure. Additionally, after each legislative vote, there is a 48-hour grace period during which community members can reassign their delegated power to better align with their preferences. This ensures the political power of each council member is continually recalibrated to reflect the community's evolving priorities.
To learn more about how Voi’s community can delegate power to elected Council members read here.
This legislative framework enables the Voi Council to act as a dynamic, responsive body that not only governs the creation of laws and policies but also ensures they align with the evolving needs and aspirations of the Voi community. This structure supports a balanced, democratic approach to blockchain governance, where community input and legislative oversight drive the ecosystem’s growth and innovation.
We look forward to your active participation in shaping the future of Voi through the Voi Council.
All important Council documents have been linked below:
Structural Overview of Voi Council
Delegating Political Power Across the Elected Council