PSB shows concerns on legitimacy of POA’s upcoming elections

KARACHI: Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has asked Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) to address a few key issues within three days to clear doubts on the legal status and legitimacy of its current office bearers, including the president.

Muhammad Shahid, Deputy Director General (Tech) at PSB, has written to the President POA Syed M Abid Qadri and asked him to address the following issues immediately but not later than three days of the date (November 5th) of issuance of the letter (No.F.7-85/2020-PSB(NF).

The issues POA has been asked to address include: Publishing of the amended version of the POA Constitution (approved by the IOC); Provision of the minutes of the General Council meetings of December 2023 and July 2024 to all stakeholders; Disclosure of the complete and accurate Electoral College for the upcoming elections; Confirmation of the Election Rules (recently ratified by the POA General Council) by the IOC; and inclusion of cycling in the list of affiliated National Sports Federations.

“Failure to take corrective actions on these matters will not only bring into question the transparency of the democratic electoral process but will also cast serious doubts on the legal status and legitimacy of the current office bearers of the POA including its President,” stated the letter.

Also, the letter emphasised, the absence of key documents such as the amended Constitution, the Electoral College, and the non-compliance with IOC governance standards suggest that the POA may no longer be operating within the bounds of its own Constitution or the IOC Charter.

The PSB Deputy DG mentioned that he was directed by his higher authorities to express serious concerns about the legitimacy of POA’s upcoming elections based on the communications received from different stakeholders and review of relevant documents.

“It is evident that key aspects of the POA’s operations and procedures are not being conducted in a manner consistent with the principles of good governance enshrined in the International Olympic Committee Charter. “The member IOC Pakistan [Syed Shahid Ali] has also highlighted similar concerns vide letter dated October 14th,” stated the PSB’s letter to the President POA.

The PSB letter explained that the POA’s constitution available on the association’s website is the 2019 version which contains only 13 articles while Clause 8 of the Election Rules (recently approved by the General Council on July 6th) refers to Articles 12, 13, 24, 25, and 29 of the POA Constitution.

“This reflects that a new or amended version of the constitution exists but it has not been made publicly available. The absence of this updated document on your website contradicts the good governance principles of the IOC, which emphasise transparency and accessibility of fundamental documents,” stated the PSB letter.

Similarly, the letter added, the POA has also not uploaded the minutes of the General Council meetings held in December 2023 and July 2024 during which amendments to the POA Constitution were discussed and ratified.

“This failure to provide key documentation raises questions about the legitimacy of the amendments and whether they were made in compliance with the procedural requirements of both the POA Constitution and the IOC governance standards,” stated the letter.

Moreover, the letter added, the POA has not shared the details of the Electoral College for the upcoming elections. “The lack of clarity on who constitutes the Electoral College and how these members were selected or nominated, particularly in light of the alleged amendments that seems to deprive departments such as Army, PAF, Navy, Wapda, HEC, and Railways of their rightful participation is deeply concerning.

“Moreover, the discretion given to the POA President to nominate 16 members who are eligible to vote further calls into question the fairness and impartiality of the electoral process,” stated the letter.

Besides, the letter added, it is unclear whether the Elections Rules approved by the POA General Council on July 6th have received the required approval from the IOC as these rules should not be enforced until such approval is confirmed. “These rules should be published on the POA’s website in accordance with the IOC’s standards,” stated the letter.

The PSB letter further stated that the Article 28 of Olympic Charter prescribes composition of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) which provides that whatever their composition is NOCs must include all national federations affiliated to the International Federations governing sports included in the programme of the Olympic Games.

“Cycling is included in the Olympic Games and the Pakistan Cycling Federation is recognised by its international federation and actively participates in national and international events. “However, according to the information available on the POA’s website cycling is not included in the list of National Sports Federations affiliated with POA, which is contrary to the Olympic Charter,” the letter said.