The Cardano Foundation’s Vote for the Constitutional Committee

With the on-chain governance model defined in CIP-1694 now fully implemented, the Cardano ecosystem is taking the next steps to solidify the community’s governance leadership. Central to this new era is the election of the Constitutional Committee (CC), a body entrusted with upholding the principles of the Cardano Constitution.

The election, facilitated by Intersect, is now live, with 19 candidates applying for seven CC seats. These individuals, companies, and consortia compete for the critical responsibility of ensuring the constitutionality of future governance actions. The CC as a body is entrusted with interpreting compliance of future governance actions with the Cardano Constitution.

As an active member of the interim Constitutional Committee (iCC), the Cardano Foundation has diligently served the community by reviewing and voting on the constitutionality of governance actions and publishing these reviews since the Chang hard fork. The Foundation decided not to seek re-election at this time, in order to step back from the role and support other applicants as governance evolves to become self-sustaining.

We will continue to fulfill our iCC duties until our term concludes and the new committee is seated, at which point we will step down. The Foundation is confident the community is ready to lead.

A pledge to principled participation

As a registered DRep, the Cardano Foundation is committed to active and responsible participation in governance. We believe it our obligation, and that of every ada holder and DRep, to engage thoughtfully in this foundational election. Our vote reflects our choice of the candidates we believe are best equipped to fulfil the role of a CC member.

To that end, we developed a comprehensive methodology to assess every candidate.

Our selection process

In order to ensure impartiality and a diversity of perspectives, a dedicated team of six Cardano Foundation personnel conducted our review. At the same time, to avoid a potential conflict of interest, myself and Matthias Benkort (who are running for CC seats, individually and as part of a consortium), did not participate in the review process.

The Foundation’s assessment framework is built on five core categories. Our reviewers assessed each candidate against these categories, using information from the candidates' public intake form.

The five assessment categories:

1. •Constitutional & Governance Acumen: Does the candidate demonstrate an understanding of the Cardano Constitution, CIP-1694, and the specific responsibilities of a CC member?
2. •Technical Competency & Security Mindset: Can the candidate assess if a governance action is technically sound and safe for the protocol? Do they show an awareness of potential attack vectors or security risks?
3. •Impartiality & Objectivity: Is there evidence that the candidate can act as a neutral guardian for all of Cardano?
4. •Demonstrated Long-Term Commitment: Does the candidate’s history in the ecosystem show a genuine, long-term commitment to the health and success of Cardano?
5. •Communication & Reasoning Skills: Is the candidate’s application well-reasoned and clearly articulated, so that it indicates an ability to communicate CC decisions effectively to the community?

The Cardano Foundation’s voting

This review process conducted by the Foundation has given us a picture of the applicants’ shared profiles as a whole and has guided our selection of those who we believe are best suited for the role of a CC member.

Based on the final weighted scores, the Cardano Foundation will cast its vote for the following seven candidates in no particular order:

• •Ktorz
• •phil_uplc
• •Adara Consortium
• •Tingvard
• •Eastern Cardano Council
• •Cardano Atlantic Council
• •Ace Alliance

A call to participate

The success of on-chain governance depends on active and widespread participation. The Cardano Foundation strongly encourages all fellow DReps to review the candidates, consider the most important qualifications for a CC member, and cast their votes.

The election closes on 2 July 2025. Voice your opinion and help shape the future of Cardano.

Cast your vote today at https://elections.constitution.gov.tools/