In order to vote, users were required to have had an English Wikipedia
account registered before
1 October,
2006 and with 150 edits to its credit as of
1 December.
In order to run, candidates needed to have 1000 edits on en.wikipedia as of
1 October,
2006.
Candidates provided a brief (fewer than 400 words) statement, although they were free to link to a longer statement if they wished.
The total number of seats up for election was specified as "at least 5", to fill the 5 seats in Tranche Gamma whose duties expire on
31 December2006, and it was stated during the election process that additional appointments might be made from candidates earning support in the election for purposes of expanding the committee. Ultimately, 7 arbitrators were appointed: 5 to the seats in Tranche Gamma, and 2 to unexpectedly vacant seats in Tranche Beta. Newly appointed Tranche Gamma members were given three-year terms until
31 December2009. The terms of the replacement Tranche Beta, meanwhile, will continue until
31 December2008, when the positions of the users they replaced would have expired. The two users who were replaced are eligible to claim additional Tranche Beta seats if they choose to return to the committee, but these will expire on the same date their original terms would have expired.
Elections were run in the following format: all candidates with more 'support' votes than 'oppose' votes were eligible for the ArbCom. As there were more approvals than seats available, Jimbo appointed candidates in the order of the percentage of approval in the community, the top five to Tranche Gamma and the next two to Tranche Beta.
Election status of the former members of Tranche Gamma
None of the four arbitrators (
The Epopt,
Jayjg,
Theresa knott, and
Sam Korn) in the previous Tranche Gamma ran for reelection. The vacant seat in Tranche Gamma (vacant since
Mackensen's February resignation), the
resignation of arbitrator
Mindspillage (who was appointed to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees), the replacement of
Filiocht (who is on indefinite leave), and the seats of the four Tranche Gamma members led to a total of seven seats filled.