Hello, this is John Chevedden. Proposal four, independent board chairman.
Okay.
Hello, this is John Chevedden. Charles requests that the board of directors adopt an enduring policy and amend the governing documents, including the corporate governance guidelines in order that two separate people hold the office of the chairman and the office of the CEO as soon as possible. The chairman of the board shall be an independent director. An independent lead director shall not be a substitute for an independent board chairman. Board shall have the discretion to select an interim chairman of the board who is not an independent director to serve while the board is required to seek an independent chairman of the board on an accelerated basis. An independent board chairman at all times improves corporate governance by bringing impartiality, objective oversight, and external expertise to board decisions, mitigating conflicts of interest, enhancing transparency, and boosting shareholder confidence.
This detached perspective allows the chairman to focus on shareholder interest, strengthen management accountability, and provide the critical checks and balances, ultimately contributing to long-term sustainability and profitability. Independent board chairman could improve the annual meeting by not beginning it with a recording of 19 minutes and not beginning the annual meeting with a Christian prayer that makes non-Christians outsiders. Please vote yes, independent board chairman, proposal four. Now that everyone has had the opportunity to vote, I cast all votes authorized by proxy in favor of the proposal one, two, and three and against proposal four in accordance with the board's recommendations. I hereby declare the polls for the 2026 Aflac Incorporated annual shareholders meeting closed. Mr. Secretary, do we have the voting results?
At this point, the vote is still being tabulated, but I can report that according to the preliminary results, each of the 11 nominees for director has received votes cast for in excess of 94%. The non-binding advisory say on pay proposal has been approved by over 94% of the votes cast. The appointment of KPMG as the company's independent registered public accounting firm for 2026 has been approved by over 95% of the votes cast. Over 83% of the votes cast were against the shareholder proposal regarding an independent board chairman. These preliminary results are subject to final tabulation and verification by the Inspector of Election, and the final voting results will be provided in a Form 8-K filed with the SEC later this week. Mr. Chairman, that concludes all the items of business to properly come before this meeting.
Thank you, Mr. Secretary. We now open up the meeting for question- and- answers. There being no questions.
Uh.
I got it.
Mr. Chairman, we do have a couple of questions. One second. The first question, what is Aflac's 2026 plan for share buybacks?
Well, we continue to look for our best return on capital. In the first quarter of 2026, we bought back $1 billion in the quarter. We will continue to be tactical and opportunistic as we move forward.
Mr. Chairman, I have another question for you. Do you still have no plans to retire?
Well, as I stated earlier in my talk, we are very interested, or I am very interested in continuing to work because I've enjoyed it. I serve at the pleasure of the board, and the board is continuing to focus on succession planning. I'm very happy with that.
Mr. Chairman, there are no further germane questions. We will follow up directly with shareholders who have asked questions that may not have been addressed.
All right. There being no further questions, the meeting is now adjourned. Thank you very much for attending.
That concludes our meeting. You may now disconnect.