Sport

CAS orders fresh presidential election at ANOCA

The Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) will be forced into holding fresh presidential elections after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that last year’s process unfairly excluded Cameroon’s Hamad Kalkaba Malboum.

In May 2017, Lassana Palenfo was re-elected as president. The Ivorian assumed the role in 2005 and secured another four-year term after standing unopposed. Palenfo (pictured) faced no opposition in the vote after Kalkaba was excluded in the lead-up after being accused of bribery and using backing from the Cameroon government during his campaign.

This triggered an appeal to CAS by Kalkaba, who is also president of the Cameroonian Olympic Committee and a vice-president of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), and has resulted in a period of turmoil for ANOCA.

In November 2017, at the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly in Prague, Palenfo responded to criticism by delegating most of his responsibilities to the ANOCA Executive Committee while retaining the presidency.

However, he was then removed from power on a temporary basis in March, with Algerian Mustapha Berraf, the first vice-president, appointed to act as interim president. The CAS has now ruled that there was insufficient evidence that Kalkata sought to buy votes, upholding his appeal and ordering a new election open to all candidates.

Berraf said, according to the FrancsJeux.com website: “I have the honour to inform you that the election of the president of ANOCA in Djibouti has been cancelled and that new elections must be organised for the above-mentioned post, open to all.”

The news comes with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) currently leading a process to secure an African host for its 2022 summer Youth Olympic Games. ANOCA is also yet to find a replacement host for the 2019 African Games after Equatorial Guinea withdrew its staging rights last year.

Source: sportbusiness.com

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