(ATR) The IOC will need to fill an additional spot on its Executive Board after Patrick Hickey resigns his post "with immediate effect".
"In his resignation letter, Mr. Hickey emphasized that he wants to protect the IOC and to ensure that the interests of the National Olympic Committees are represented on the Executive Board," an IOC spokesperson said in a statement.
Hickey, Olympic Council of Ireland President for 20 years and an IOC member since 1995, was arrested in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016, just days before the end of the Rio Olympics. Arrested at dawn in his room at the IOC hotel, Hickey was imprisoned and charged with violating Brazilian law regarding the sale of tickets to the Olympics.
Last December after posting a $400,000 bond, Hickey was allowed to return to Ireland. His trial in Rio de Janeiro is scheduled to begin on Nov. 29. Hickey has said that he has done nothing wrong.
Immediately after his arrest Hickey self-suspended his OCI presidency as well as his seat on the IOC. Since then the OCI has elected a new president, Sarah Keane. Late last month the OCI board voted unanimously not to accept Hickey's return, regardless of the outcome of judicial proceedings in Brazil and an IOC Ethics Commission inquiry.
The IOC statement says Hickey’s self-suspension from all other IOC functions remains in place but that "he hopes to exercise his functions as an IOC member in the future". The IOC also "reiterates that the presumption of innocence prevails" in Hickey’s case.
A replacement for Hickey on the Executive Board will be filled during this week’s IOC Session in Lima, according to the IOC spokesperson.
The final day of the Session, in this case Sept. 16, is reserved for the election of Executive Board members and new IOC members. With Hickey’s resignation, there will now be three EB spots open with so far five candidates competing for them. Nine candidates are up for election as new IOC members, which would push total membership above 100 for the first time in a few years.
Written by Gerard Farek
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