In Brief:
- Illuvium ILV $3.35 ▼ -15.3% (official site) began accepting nominations on Oct. 17 for its Epoch 12 governance elections, with five Illuvium Main Council seats up for grabs.
- The nomination window shuts at 05:00 UTC on Oct. 27, after which voting takes place from Oct. 27 to 31.
- The election comes after the Staking V3 voting integration, under which vILV voting power is calculated separately on Ethereum and Base before the two balances are added together.
On Friday, Illuvium kicked off nominations for its Epoch 12 governance elections, putting five seats on the Illuvium Main Council up for a vote.
In a post on X, the project said nominations are open from 05:00 UTC on Oct. 17 until 05:00 UTC on Oct. 27. Voting is set to follow from Oct. 27-31.
Illuvium Epoch 12 Governance Elections Are Here
Nominations for the Illuvium Main Council are now OPEN.
Five IMC seats are up for election, and this is your opportunity to help shape the future of Illuvium governance.
Nominations: Oct 17 05:00 UTC – Oct 27 05:00 UTC
Voting: October 27–31@illuviumioView on X ↗
Because the IMC is currently the only elected council in the DAO, this is the sole community election on Illuvium's governance calendar right now.
Staking V3 set the timeline
Technical work determined when the election could go ahead. During its Sept. 2 meeting, the IMC stated that “a definitive solution has been agreed upon for the Staking V3 voting integration.”
According to the meeting minutes, “vILV voting power on Ethereum and Base will be calculated separately, with a user’s total voting power determined by the combined balance across both chains.”
The council added that “the integration will be implemented as soon as possible, with Epoch 12 elections expected to begin shortly after completion.” No date was given at the time; the Oct. 17 announcement supplied one.
Those Sept. 2 minutes named Kieran as Illuvium Team Admin, with Josh, Filo, Patate and Paz recorded as council members.
Governance on a leaner footing
This is the first election held since Illuvium scaled down its council structure. On March 2, the IMC signed off on a proposal to temporarily pause the Illuvium Community Council.
The proposal cited weaker market activity and reduced community participation. Its authors said governance engagement, proposal volume and forum activity had fallen too far to warrant a standalone community body.
The Community Sub Council backed the pause on Feb. 27, and the IMC followed three days later. ICC members ceased their active duties, while ICC salaries and operating expenses were put on hold. The ICC’s governance, review and community-facing responsibilities were absorbed by the IMC.
Bringing the ICC back would take a fresh governance proposal. Potential triggers named in the proposal included increased governance participation, a rise in proposals, improved market conditions or clear community demand.
The pause built on earlier cost reductions. GCCP-4, approved in April 2025, trimmed council salaries and returned the IMC to full decentralization, with all voting power derived from token stakers.
A look back at Epoch 11
The prior election, for Epoch 11, launched April 30, 2025, opening nominations for both the IMC and DAO committees. Anyone staking ILV could vote, and IMC voting wrapped up May 13 at 00:00 UTC.
Kieran Warwick, @JoshwaaaDixon, @illuvination, @jaganite and @X_Filow won seats in that vote. The incoming council then appointed committee members, among them the Esports Committee, through May 18.
Governance V3 stretched Illuvium’s epochs from six months to nine months, a change intended to cut down on how frequently new council members needed onboarding and to give the roles more stability.
Per Illuvium’s governance documentation, ILV stakers “have the ability to nominate individuals for sub-council seats and delegate their votes to the nominees,” with voting power linked to staking as a safeguard against Sybil attacks.
In its Oct. 17 post, Illuvium urged token holders to get involved, describing the open seats as “your opportunity to help shape the future of Illuvium governance.”