The new president of the Olympic Committee of El Salvador is received with approval by the government of Nayib Bukele

A year and a half before the Central American and Caribbean Games, El Salvador’s Olympic movement has changed leadership at a time when the conflict with the government threatened the celebration of the mega event.

With a total of 36 votes in favor, Armando Bruni, head of the Salvadoran Badminton Federation, won the presidency of the Olympic Committee of El Salvador (COES).

Bruni’s election put an end to the era of Eduardo Palomo, who was president since 2008 and also prevailed in the 2012 and 2017 elections.

In the vote, the slate headed by Bruni won 36 to 9 over the other led by Fabricio Hernández, president of the Salvadoran Federation of Bodybuilding and Palomo’s vice president.

Voting was by a show of hands. Regarding a possible controversy or reprobation to this method instead of the secret vote proposed by the losing slate, Bruni ruled out a probable challenge, also taking into account the marked majority.

“The challenge is a right, but the Assembly voted by show of hands and our statutes allow it”, he commented to the newspaper “Co Latino”.

Juan Santiago Estrada, from Nicaragua, as observer of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), was present at the election Assembly of the new COES executive.

“We congratulate the winning slate, we will work with you in the transition,” said Palomo.

The president of Centro Caribe Sports, Dominican Luis Mejía Oviedo, confirmed to Around The Rings, that the day after the election he spoke for an hour by videoconference with Bruni.

“We were updating each other on his plans, his intentions, and the preparations for the Games,” Mejia said.

A day before the elections, Mejía, for CCS, Palomo, for COES, Yamil Bukele as president of the National Sports Institute, and Mario Durán, mayor of San Salvador, signed the agreement that makes official the Central American capital as the host of the XXIV Games.

The Opening Ceremony is set for May 12, 2023.

In the next few days, a commission from Centro Caribe Sports will travel to El Salvador to start supervising the construction and assembly works of the event. CCS representatives will be based in that city to directly follow up on the preparations.

“Sports won! Armando Bruni and planilla (his list) will preside over the new executive committee of the Olympic Committee of El Salvador. Congratulations!”, wrote Bukele on Twitter.

Bukele, brother of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s President, participated in the electoral assembly in his capacity as president of the Salvadoran Basketball Federation.

“A change was necessary after 13 years. I think the Federations made a good decision,” Bukele expressed to Around the Rings.

The sports leader revealed that the presence of the IOC observer was due to a letter sent to the IOC by 35 national federations requesting “support to guarantee transparency and good manners” in the elections.

Around the Rings also asked Palomo for his views on the outcome of the elections.

As for the Central American and Caribbean Games, Bukele said he was “running” as he alluded to the short time remaining before the inauguration. He praised the creation of a “Sports Cabinet” by the government led by his brother, the signing of the contract with CCS, the appointment of the Organizing Committee and the bidding of nine scenarios this November.

In January, the official launching of the Games brand, the slogan, and other promotional activities for the event will take place.

“I am not in favor of talking about a divorce between COES and INDES. I see an opportunity to build together an agreement of understanding, where we respect each other, but work hand in hand to move the country forward. The Central American and Caribbean Games in San Salvador are the perfect opportunity to show that together we can do great things,” Bruni told local media.

More than 5,000 athletes from 38 countries are expected to participate in the multidisciplinary event.

The San Salvador Games will take place less than six months before the XIX Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile.