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Thursday March 28, 2024

Election commission, dispute resolution body to work freely

By Our Correspondent
May 02, 2021

KARACHI: A senior official of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) on Saturday dispelled the impression that the work of the Independent Election Commission and Dispute Resolution Committee being incorporated in the proposed sports policy will be influenced by the Board and the Ministry of IPC.

“It is just negative propaganda. These bodies will be entirely free and independent. Neither the PSB nor the IPC will have any influence on them,” the official told ‘The News’ on Saturday.

The Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) has convened its general council meeting on Monday (tomorrow) to discuss the government’s move to constitute these two bodies which will conduct the elections of the federations and resolve disputes.

“The mechanism for these bodies will be finalised after taking input from national federations. The Independent Election Commission will be headed by a retired judge of the top judiciary and it will act entirely in a free environment,” the official said.

“The PSB and IPC ministry will do their actual jobs. We want to have proper forums for holding fair and free elections of federations and tackling any dispute which may arise within the federations. The Dispute Resolution Committee will be consulted by the parties concerned for arbitration. If the committee fails to resolve their dispute then they will have the right to approach the top judiciary,” the official said.

The official said that they want to violate neither the IOC charter nor the statutes of the International Federations (IFs) or national federations. “Our basic aim is to ensure fair and free elections of the federations. If you have issues within the federation it leaves a negative impact on the development of the respective sport,” the official added.

“Look, football is suffering because of these disputes. Boxing is another example. AIBA has refused to recognise the Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) and has asked it to re-conduct its elections within three months. Otherwise it will be suspended. If we have such forums then we will not face any such issues in future,” the official said.

About the composition of the Dispute Resolution Committee the official said that it would carry an arbitrator and a few other members who may be former Olympians and players with great characters. “We will consult federations before constituting the Dispute Resolution Committee,” the official said.

The IPC ministry has already taken input from heads of a few federations. According to sources, it plans to consult more stakeholders before finalising the policy.