IOC extends July 15 deadline given to IOA

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has extended the July 15 deadline given to the suspended Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for holding an extraordinary general meeting for adopting an amended constitution.

The IOC’s latest communication stated that it needed more time to review the proposed amendments which it had received recently. The IOA had sent a draft of its proposed constitution amendments to the IOC, which had charted a roadmap for India’s return to the Olympic fold following its suspension on December 4, 2012.

Apart from the deadline for amending the constitution, the IOC had also given the September 1 deadline for holding fresh elections to the IOA. A new date for the meeting would be confirmed by the IOC in the “next few days.”

“I would like to inform you that, given the complexity of the issues which have to be addressed (including good governance and ethics), the IOC needs more time to coordinate all comments internally. The IOC will therefore not be able to meet the deadline initially established (15 July) for the first Extraordinary General Assembly of the suspended IOA to take place,” IOC director-general Christophe De Kepper wrote in the letter dated June 28.

“Consequently, this initial deadline of 15 July will have to be slightly extended until the IOC can compile and send all necessary comments for the new IOA Constitution. In the next few days, I will confirm a reasonable date/period that could be envisaged for this first Extraordinary General Assembly to take place,” he said in the letter.

The letter was addressed to Sports Minister Jitendra Singh, Secretary Sports PK Deb, IOA acting President Vijay Kumar Malhotra, IOC member and secretary-general of the suspended IOA Randhir Singh, and all the member of the suspended body.

De Kepper said IOC was in the process of reviewing the IOA constitution. “The IOC has received the proposed amendments to the current IOA Constitution and is now in the process of reviewing the IOA Constitution as a whole (including but not limited to the amendment proposals received),” he wrote. It, however, has been learnt that amidst other things the IOC wanted clarity on who would be convening the general body meeting when it takes places.