Three sporting elections are scheduled for the coming period:
– The elections for the Olympic and non-Olympic sports federations will start soon, after the end of the Paris Olympic Games about a fortnight ago, and will run until the end of the year.
– Elections for a new Olympic Committee Executive Committee, to be held next February.
– The election of a new President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), led by Germany’s Thomas Bach, in March.
Some federations have already set the dates for their elections. For example, the Cycling Federation (Olympic federation) has chosen either September14 or 21, in principle, while the Mixed Martial Arts Federation (MMA, non-Olympic federation) has set the date for September 14. Almost all the members of the MMA Federation’s administrative committee recently submitted their resignations in writing, while one member resigned orally. To date, the Federation’s president, Mohamad Dagher, is considering whether to stand for a second term, having been unanimously elected in the autumn of 2020.
Against this backdrop, a sports activist called on Dagher, currently the youngest president of a sports federation, to stand for a second term, as he is capable of restoring order and putting things right. This comes at a time when some are trying to promote the candidacy of a prominent figure to lead the Federation, should Dagher decide not to stand for re-election.
With less than a month to go before the elections, vice-president Hassan Jezzini and his allies are on the move, as are secretary general Wissam Abi Nader and his supporters, in a show for all to see, with mutual accusations between the two men. No one knows how this fierce tug-of-war will end.
As for the Cycling Federation, its president, Vatche Zadourian, is repeating in his circles that he will not stand for re-election. If Zadourian maintains his position, the post of president seems to be contested between Cézar Salloum and Nazareth Habibian (Nazo), with the latter’s chances looking good, unless an unexpected event upsets the calculations.
This is Beirut has learned from a reliable source that an important meeting took place last Tuesday afternoon over lunch in a restaurant on the Metn coast, bringing together the president and secretary general of a collective sports federation, the president of an individual Olympic sports federation and two sports officials from a well-known party. The participants discussed the forthcoming sports federation elections, each expressing their point of view after four years of rupture. Thanks to the efforts of the mediators, including a member of parliament from a well-known bloc, it was possible to reconcile the points of view and hold the above-mentioned meeting.
The election “cooks” are working around the clock, and it seems that radical changes in alliances are underway, which could call everything into question, particularly in several federations, including volleyball, table tennis, athletics, equestrianism, archery and two individual Olympic federations.
After the general elections of the federations, we will have the elections for the Executive Committee of the Olympic Committee, which will hopefully take place in a consensual manner, without challenges from anyone, in order to avoid a repeat of the 2021 experience and the “division” within the Olympic family.
The question remains: Who will be the next President of the Lebanese Olympic Committee?
