ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) in its recent letter sent to the Pakistan Olympic Association has voiced serious concerns over governance issues besides transparency and legitimacy in POA’s upcoming electoral process.

In a letter addressed to POA president Syed Muhammad Abid Qadri Gillani, the PSB cited multiple governance issues and highlighted non-compliance with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) standards, questioning whether POA’s procedures align with international expectations for fairness and transparency.

Among the primary concerns raised are alleged secrecy surrounding constitutional amendments, withheld records of the general council meeting minutes, lack of transparency in the composition of the electoral college, and the absence of clarity on whether POA’s election rules have received approval from the IOC.

The PSB underscored the potential impact of these practices on democratic integrity of the POA.

“The absence of essential documentation like the amended Constitution and Electoral College, combined with procedural irregularities, calls into question the legality of the upcoming elections,” the letter stated.

One of PSB’s main concerns is POA’s failure to publish its updated constitution. The POA website currently only hosts the 2019 version with 13 articles, despite recent references to articles not found in that version.

This discrepancy suggests that significant amendments were made without transparency, violating IOC’s Good Governance Principles.

Further aggravating the situation, the PSB noted that minutes from the POA General Council meetings in December 2023 and July 2024 — where these amendments were reportedly discussed and ratified — have not been disclosed.

“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’s governance standards,” the PSB letter said.

Another contentious issue highlighted by the PSB is the non-disclosure of the electoral college for POA’s upcoming elections.

“The POA has not shared the details of the Electoral College for the upcoming elections, further undermining the transparency of the electoral process,” read the PSB letter.

“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 seem 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.”

The PSB also noted that it was unclear whether the Election Rules approved by the POA General Council on July 6, 2024 had received the required approval from the IOC; these rules, should not be enforced until such approval was confirmed.

“Moreover, these rules should be published on POA website, in accordance with the IOC’s standards of transparency and governance,” the letter stated.

The IOC Charter mandates that National Olympic Committees, like the POA, must represent all sports federations, recognised by international federations participating in the Olympic Games. However, the PSB pointed out that the Pakistan Cycling Federation, despite being recognised internationally is notably absent from POA’s list of affiliated federations — a clear violation of the Olympic Charter.

The PSB urged the POA to address these governance issues within three days, emphasising that failure to do so could cast doubts on the legal standing of POA’s current office-bearers.

“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 warned.

The PSB letter was copied to high-level stakeholders, including IOC director general Christophe De Kepper, national sports federations and prominent departments within Pakistan’s sports sector.

When contacted, Abid confirmed that the POA had received the PSB letter.

“We have called an emergency meeting of our office-bearers on this issue. The points raised in this letter will be answered in this meeting,” he said, adding that all affairs of the POA were being run according to its constitution.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2024