IOC asks Randhir Singh to continue as acting head of Olympic Council of Asia after ‘interference in election’
- IOC bans former OCA head Sheikh Ahmad for 3 years after his brother wins over votes in recent election
- Sheikh Ahmad’s presence during elections is being investigated as a potential plot to gain political advantage
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has asked India’s Randhir Singh to continue as acting head of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), according to a letter addressing Singh, following the IOC’s refusal to recognise the Asian governing body’s elections.
Earlier this week, the IOC banned Kuwait’s Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah for three years, saying he had an “undeniable impact” on July’s OCA elections in which his brother Sheikh Talal Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was appointed president.
Sheikh Ahmad travelled to Bangkok ahead of the election and was present in the city when the voting took place, a move which was “interpreted as interference in the election process” by the IOC’s ethics commission. Sheikh Ahmad has denied any wrongdoing.
Sheikh Talal was appointed OCA president by a margin of 24 votes to 20 over fellow Kuwaiti, Husain Al-Musallam.
However, the ethics commission said the IOC should not “recognise these elections until a full review of the OCA’s elections process is carried out at a later stage”.
Sheikh Talal was expected to take over from Singh, a former Olympic skeet shooter who was appointed acting president of the OCA in 2021, when Sheikh Ahmad stepped down as president after being convicted by a Swiss criminal court of forgery.
The trial considered whether Sheikh Ahmad had used a bogus Kuwaiti coup plot to gain advantage over political rivals.
Sheikh Ahmad, who denied all the charges in the case and appealed the conviction, is now awaiting the outcome of the appeal.
A letter seen by Reuters to the OCA’s former secretary general Singh dated July 30, states: “Seeing as the IOC investigation is likely not to be concluded before October 2023 and since the IOC has not recognised the election of Sheikh Talal Al-Sabah, the IOC will continue to work with you [Singh] as OCA’s acting President...
“Following the outcome of the IOC investigation, we will work with you to implement the next steps of a roadmap to ensure the continued functioning of the OCA according to the basic principles of good governance.”
A former OPEC secretary-general, Sheikh Ahmad was allowed to suspend his own IOC membership in 2018 when he was originally charged with forgery by the court in Geneva, Switzerland.
The OCA was created by Sheikh Ahmad’s father in 1981 and organises the Asian Games, where the next edition kicks off on September 23 in Hangzhou, China.
