NOC proceeds with election despite court and government orders

Kathmandu, December 24 — In violation of a court order, and the directives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Sports Council (NSC), the Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC) has proceeded with its election process.

Despite the government deploying police at the NOC headquarters in Satdobato, Lalitpur, to enforce the court's decision, the current leadership of the NOC continued the election nominations online, bypassing government scrutiny.

The election date for the NOC has been set for December 28.

On Monday, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, the NOC had scheduled a nomination registration process. However, upon learning that the election was proceeding in violation of the court's order, the Ministry of Home Affairs stationed police officers at the NOC headquarters, preventing the NOC officials from entering the office for registration. As a result, the nominations were registered online, bypassing the restrictions.

An NOC official confirmed that a temporary office had been set up in a hotel in Kathmandu to continue the online registration process. The election committee, headed by Basanta Bahadur Basnet as the Chief Election Officer, along with Sanjeev Acharya and Indu Karki as election officers, continued with the registration.

Three candidates have registered their nominations for the position of President: current President Jeevan Ram Shrestha, current General Secretary Nilendra Raj Shrestha, and Tej Bahadur Gurung, representing the Nepal Handball Association.

For the position of General Secretary, Rajib Shrestha has registered his nomination. Other nominations include several candidates for Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer positions.

The election will proceed with several steps, including nomination reviews, challenges, and final candidate lists, with voting scheduled for December 28 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

Minister of Sports questions: Will the voting also be done online?

Minister of Youth and Sports, Tejulal Chaudhary, has stated that the NOC election, which is proceeding in defiance of the court's orders, will not be recognized by the government.

He emphasized that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) charter mandates that national committees must respect the laws of their country and the court’s decisions.

Chaudhary raised concerns over the online registration of nominations, questioning whether voting would also be conducted online. He stated that if the NOC proceeded with the election in violation of the court's orders, the government would not hesitate to freeze their accounts and block their facilities.

Sports Council Member Secretary: Violation of Court order unacceptable

Following the online nominations, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the National Sports Council (NSC) have expressed their displeasure. NSC Executive Secretary Tankalal Ghising stated that while the Ministry and Council are not opposed to a legitimate election, they cannot accept one that disregards the court's orders. He emphasized that the NOC leadership's actions were illegal and harmful to Nepal's reputation in the international sports community.

Ghising criticized the NOC leadership for amending the NOC's constitution for personal gain, stating that such actions would only damage the credibility of the country's sports sector. He also questioned the prolonged tenure of current NOC leaders and their contribution to the development of Nepalese sports.

What is the NOC election dispute?

The Ministry of Youth and Sports had written to the Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday, requesting the election be stopped. This was in response to the NOC proceeding with the election despite the court's orders and the directives of the NSC. Earlier, the NOC had amended its constitution to allow the current President, Jeevan Ram Shrestha, to extend his tenure for a third term.

Despite a court order and a directive from the NSC, the NOC held a special general assembly to amend its constitution, allowing extended terms for the President and General Secretary. The court has intervened, and several sports associations have filed petitions regarding the legality of these actions.

The court issued an interim order to halt any changes to the NOC constitution and to refrain from proceeding with the election until the petition was resolved. The NOC's leadership, however, proceeded with their amendments, resulting in further legal challenges. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has also been informed of these developments and has communicated that the amendments cannot be approved until the legal issues are settled.