Beckford against JOA snap election

Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) presidential candidate Alan Beckford says there was no need to accelerate the timeline for elections, calling it a bad example of proper sports governance.

Official notice was given on Friday for an “extraordinary” annual general meeting (AGM) to be held on July 10 to elect the next JOA executive body, less than two weeks from the start of the Tokyo Olympics.

Incumbent President Christopher Samuda will be running for re-election, as will seven other members of the board. The notice says that member associations have until this Friday at 4 p.m. to submit nominations.

Last year the International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed to adopt a flexible approach to the election cycles of its National Olympic Committees (NOC) because of the postponement of the Tokyo Games in 2020. Under the provision, NOCs could either stick to their respective four-year timeline or follow the Olympic Games cycle and hold their elections after this year’s rescheduled competition.

NOT ENOUGH TIME

Beckford says that the decision to hold a snap election before the start of the Games doesn’t bode well for a fair and transparent election process.

“I do think that you need to have reasonable notice,” Beckford told The Gleaner. “What in actual fact the JOA has done is that the notice went out on Friday and you are given till 4 p.m. to nominate persons. So what I’m saying is that you are basically giving people four days. Is that good for governance? What is the rush to have it like this? And I think it’s just its unfortunate from a democracy point of view and trying to make sure that we get the best persons.”

Beckford, who is a former director of the JOA and Jamaica Triathlon Association vice president, also raised concerns that the audited financial statements for 2019-20, to the best of his knowledge, will not be ready in time for the meeting. Beckford said that all members need to have the full financial picture so that they can make an informed vote.

“We would have gone with all of 2020 and half of 2021 without the membership knowing what the true financial position of the organisation is,” he said. “Historically, when they have been voting in elections, they would always have provided financials. When somebody does not provide audited financials at an AGM, you really have to question if there is something that maybe would have changed a person’s views as to how they see the administration.”

ISSUES RAISED

Jamaica Wrestling Federation Vice President John Isaacs also raised issues with the decision.

“I am very interested in why they are calling it early and why there isn’t an audited report coming with the elections,” he said. “Why are not we not following the governance criteria that this board has been advocating from day one?

“From what I understand, it should be 21 days. So why are you calling a 15-day election with a nomination for one week?”

Governance is one of the issues that Beckford has with Samuda’s leadership, and what he says is the inability to maximise the potential of other opportunities for general marketing and sponsorship revenue.

“We’ll be looking at other sources of funding that the IOC has, because we really haven’t tapped into the sources of funding that require proposals.

‘We have a number of plans that we think would be good arrangements between the JOA, the Government, and member federations.”

Additionally, Beckford says that his financial background makes him an ideal candidate to take the association in a new direction.

Samuda and JOA Chief Executive Officer Ryan Foster did not respond to calls made by The Gleaner yesterday.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com