Andrew Parsons faces no challengers for a second term as president of the International Paralympic Committee

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) released the candidates list for the IPC Governing Board elections today. The elections, due to be held on December 12, include President and Vice President, as well as 10 Member at Large positions on the IPC Governing Board for the next term cycle.

Current IPC Governing Board President, Andrew Parsons, looks set to retain his seat on the Board for the upcoming Paralympic cycle since he has no challengers. Parsons, who already served one term as President from 2017-2021, is seen as a strong force within the Paralympic movement.

It is generally thought that he is one of the main reasons the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games in his native Brazil were able to be held despite the severe governance and budget crisis leading up to the Games.

He’s also not a newcomer to the IPC Governing Board, having served as Vice President from 2013 to 2017, and as a Member at Large from 2009 to 2013. He was also President of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee from 2009 to 2017, which is one of the IPC member organizations that nominated him as President.

Parsons was also nominated by the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI), International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS), and World Archery (WA).

If Parsons’ re-election is indeed upheld by the IPC membership, then he will serve his second term as President of the IPC Governing Board. According to the IPC Constitution, his term in office would last four years, and he would be eligible to serve one more term, for a total of three terms, as President of the IPC Governing Board.

Another election, which features only a single candidate, is for the position of Vice President.

Duane Kale is the only candidate standing for Vice President, and, like Parsons, he seeks re-election to that position, having served as Vice President of the IPC Governing Board from 2017 to present.

Kale won four gold medals, along with both a single silver and bronze medal, at the 1996 Summer Paralympic Games in Atlanta.

He was nominated for Vice President by the New Zealand Paralympic Committee. He has only served one term on the IPC Governing Board, meaning that he can serve a further two terms on the Board before having to leave the board for a term.

The last and only competitive election will be for the position of Member at Large.

There are 24 candidates vying for 10 seats on the IPC Governing Board as a Member at Large.

The candidates for Member at Large are: Debra Alexander, Mohamed Alhameli, Jai-Jun Chung, Leonel da Rocha Pinto, Muffy Davis, Chelsey Gotell, Khatab Hayat, Sabrina Ibanez, Duane Kale, Tanja Kari, Miki Matheson, Ming-Chu Mu, Luca Pancalli, John Petersson, Juan Pablo Salazar, Karl Quade, Majid Rashed, Ehud Rassabi, Tim Reddish, Imran Jamil Shami, Gursharan Singh, Robyn Smith, László Szabó, Esther Vergeer, and Jianmin Zhou.

Debra Alexander, Mohamed Alhameli, Muffy Davis, Luca Pancalli, Leonel da Rocha Pinto, Time Reddish, and Juan Pablo Salazar are all standing for re-election to the IPC Governing Board.

Kale, who is running for Vice President and a Member at Large, can only be elected to one position on the Board, so he would have to choose between the two positions if he is elected to both.

Chelsey Gotell served as the athlete representative on the IPC Governing Board during the last cycle, and is now looking to be elected as a Member at Large.

Debra Alexander and Sabrina Ibanez were each nominated by an international sports federation, while Robyn Smith was nominated by Virtus, an International Organization of Sport for the Disabled.

Majid Rashed was nominated by the Asian Paralympic Committee, a continental Paralympic organization, while all the other candidates for Member at Large were nominated by individual national Paralympic committees.

All candidates for each position will have the opportunity to present their candidature before the IPC membership on December 10, two days before the election.

The elections will be held as part of the IPC General Assembly in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei, which will be held on December 11 - 12, 2021. The General Assembly will be preceded by the IPC Conference at the same venue on December 9 - 10, 2021.

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