International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday issued a final warning to Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to "settle its governance issues" and hold elections by December, unless the world sports body will ban India.
After Narinder Batra was removed as president of the Indian Olympic Association, the IOC executive board, which met in Lausanne on Thursday, also decided not to recognise any "acting/interim president" and said that Rajeev Mehta would be the primary point of contact.
The IOC Executive Board decided to issue a final warning and consider the immediate suspension of the NOC of India at the next IOC Executive Board meeting in December 2022 if, by then, the NOC of India is not able to address and resolve its governance issues to the satisfaction of the IOC, in the interest of sports and the athletes. This decision was made in light of the ongoing internal disputes, governance shortcomings, and ongoing court cases.
The IOC's letter to the IOA stated that the organisation must and function properly through its governing bodies, namely the Executive Committee and General Assembly, and fulfil its commitments, in particular by holding its quadrennial elections in conformity with the Olympic Charter.
"During this transition period, and given that the IOC does not currently recognise any "interim/acting president" of the NOC of India," James McLeod, Director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations, wrote in the IOC letter, "the NOC Secretary General will serve as the main point of contact to coordinate the next steps with the IOC, in close consultation and in agreement with the NOC Executive Council and General Assembly." The IOC also indicated that, depending on how the situation evolves, the Executive Board reserves the right to take any additional action at any point in the process.
The IOC also made the decision to reschedule its session, which was originally planned to take place in Mumbai in May of 2020. The IOC Session, which was scheduled to take place in Mumbai in May 2023, has been postponed until September or October 2023, according to the letter.
"The IOC Executive Board will decide whether or not the IOC Session in 2023 should be held in India based on the decisions that will be made during the IOC Executive Board meeting in December 2022 relating to the NOC of India." The IOC said that it will arrange a joint conference with all parties concerned later this month in Lausanne in order to come to a constructive agreement and build a roadmap leading to the elections of the IOA. In light of the foregoing, we offer to hold a joint meeting on September 27, 2022, in Lausanne. My colleague Jérôme Poivey, Associate Director, NOC Relations Department, will get in touch with you and all parties interested for the specifics of this meeting, Mr. McLeod added.
The IOA elections were scheduled for December of last year but were postponed due to changes made to the voting procedure. The IOA established a six-person committee in December of last year to study the changes that needed to be made to its charter before elections could be held in order to bring it into compliance with the National Sports Code. After the Delhi High Court abolished the position of "life member" in Hockey India, via which he had run for and won the top body elections in 2017, Batra was fired as IOA head in May of this year.
Later, Batra submitted his letter of resignation to the IOA. Batra had made a statement following his removal by the High Court, declaring his intention not to run in the IOA elections.
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