CAS Rules Against AIBA Election Change

(ATR) The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against an appeal calling for an injunction to halt elections for the International Boxing Association.

On Oct. 18, the Kazakh Boxing Federation "filed an urgent application for provisional measures seeking a stay of the AIBA Election", according to a release from CAS. AIBA said in a statement today that CAS had ruled against the application, meaning the federation will still hold its Congress next month in Moscow.

"With the order to dismiss this application, CAS has ensured that the AIBA Congress and AIBA elections will continue as planned," AIBA said in a statement.

Currently only interim AIBA president and Uzbek Boxing Federation vice president Gafur Rakhimov is eligible to stand for the AIBA presidency. Kazakh Boxing Federation President Serik Konakbayev sought the 20 nominations needed to run, but was not included on the approved list of candidates.

Konakbayev filed a separate appeal with CAS in an attempt to be included in the presidential election. His appeal stated that he received the requisite number of nominations, and his exclusion was based on nominations from Sept. 24 not being counted.

While Konakbayev’s appeal is being decided by CAS, he has been allowed to campaign provisionally for the AIBA presidency. A decision by CAS is expected by Oct. 30. The AIBA Congress is set to hold the elections on Nov. 3.

"As a further sign of fair-play, while CAS is making its expedited review, AIBA has further provided exceptional consent to Konakbayev to pursue a campaign of his own volition under the same conditions as the approved candidates who have fulfilled the eligibility criteria," AIBA said in a statement.

Konakbayev released his manifesto entitled ‘Make Boxing Great Again’ to all of boxing’s member federations this week.

Written by Aaron Bauer

For general comments or questions, click here .

25 Years at # 1: Your best source for news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com , for subscribers only.