Bubka almost eliminated from IAAF Council

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/others ... -vote.html

Bubka keeps position as IAAF elections are forced into re-vote
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 11:36 AM on 24th August 2011

Ukraine's Sergei Bubka retained his vice presidency position of the IAAF world athletics federation on Wednesday after a chaotic voting session which initially had eliminated the former pole vault champion.

During a day of voting and revoting because of faulty and slow electronic equipment, Lamine Diack was re-elected to a new term as president of the IAAF.

Since he ran unopposed, it was the only clear-cut decision on Wednesday while voting on most other positions will spill over into Thursday's second day of the Congress.

The federations at the Congress voted on the second attempt to give the Senegalese a 169-29 mandate for a new term.

Bubka first seemed to be eliminated in the initial round from the panel of four vice presidents for which there were five candidates. But after the round was annulled he survived in a second round.

Bubka moved up from fifth to fourth position to get a four-year mandate alongside Qatar's Dahlan Al-Hamad, Britain's Sebastian Coe and Robert Hersh of the United States.

Canada's Abby Hoffman was eliminated after he tied for first in the original poll.

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympi ... gress.html


Sergey Bubka elected as IAAF vice president after controversial re-vote at biennial Congress

Sergey Bubka has been re-elected as one of the four vice presidents of the International Association of Athletics Federations after a controversial second vote was ordered.

By Simon Hart, in Daegu, South Korea11:15AM BST 24 Aug 2011

The original vote on Wednesday morning suggested that Bubka had failed to win re-election, despite being the man widely considered the heir apparent to IAAF president Lamine Diack, enhancing London 2012 chairman Lord Coe’s chances of gaining the top job when Diack steps down.

With five candidates chasing the four available spots, Bubka was the only one to miss out as delegates from 199 countries voted for Coe, Qatar’s Dahlan Jumman Al Hamad, American Bob Hersh and Canada’s Abby Hoffman. Hamad and Hoffman topped the poll with 175 votes, with Hersh receiving 171 votes and Coe 167.

Bubka finished a distant last with just 118 votes – prompting gasps from the auditorium floor in Daegu. At the last IAAF elections in Osaka in 2007, Bubka had topped the poll, prompting Diack to appoint him as the IAAF's senior vice-president. Bubka is also a member of the International Olympic Committee and a major player in international sports politics.

But in a dramatic development, the Ukrainian was suddenly handed an unlikely lifeline when a manual re-vote was ordered due to technical problems with the electronic voting system.

The vote for IAAF treasurer, which followed the election of the four vice-presidents, was shown to be flawed when a total of 210 votes were cast for the three candidates, despite only 199 countries being eligible to vote.

Pierre Weiss, the IAAF general secretary, said the technical problems cast doubt over the entire voting process and ordered a manual re-vote for all the elections using paper voting forms.

The votes were still being counted well into the evening in South Korea. To add to the sense of shambles, one of two photocopiers used to produce the voting forms broke down.

"We are facing a situation that was totally unseen," said Weiss before the re-vote. “We have lost trust in the system. The solution is not ideal but we are not in a situation where we can have ideal solutions. We are in crisis."

Some delegates were left wondering whether the re-vote was more conspiracy than cock-up. Whatever the truth, the chaotic scenes have severely damaged the credibility of the biggest sport in the Olympic programme.

If the result of the original electronic vote is confirmed, Bubka will not even have a place on the ruling Council. He had been so certain being re-elected as a vice-president that he had not even put his name forward for a regular Council seat.

Such a scenario would seriously undermine any hope he has of succeeding Diack as president when he stands down in Beijing in four years’ time. It would also help Coe’s own presidential ambitions, particularly if he can deliver a successful London Olympics.

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USATF Press Release

Hersh leads VP vote; Americans earn IAAF committee spots
DAEGU, South Korea – USATF Board member Robert Hersh led the voting as one of four IAAF vice presidents while three more Americans were elected to IAAF posts during the recently concluded IAAF Congress.

The Congress took place this week in the run-up to the 2011 IAAF World Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which run August 27-Sept. 4 in Daegu.

A longtime USATF board member and IAAF Council member, Hersh was re-elected as an IAAF vice president, leading the vote with 175 ballots. Second in voting was Qatari Athletics President Dahlan Jumaan Al-Hamad with 171, former British middle-distance world record holder and Olympic gold medalist Sebastian Coe was third with 169, and pole vault World record holder Sergey Bubka of Ukraine took the fourth and final vice president spot with 159.

David Katz led the voting to remain on the IAAF Technical Committee; 12 committee members were elected in a field of 28 candidates. Anne Timmons was second in balloting among 18 candidates, earning one of eight Women’s Committee spots, and Rex Harvey claimed one of eight Masters Committee positions as the fourth-highest vote getter in a field of 15.

“The USA Track & Field board of directors was very strategic in putting forth who they felt were our strongest candidates in these committee races,” said USATF Interim CEO Mike McNees. “We are proud of Bob, David, Anne and Rex for being elected to these posts and thank all of our candidates in all the races for their efforts and commitment to our sport.”

For full IAAF election results, visit www.iaaf.org