Russia’s Umar Kremlev will remain President of the International Boxing Association (IBA) after delegates at its extraordinary congress in Armenia on Sunday rejected a proposal to call new elections.
Dutch candidate Boris van der Vorst’s hopes of challenging Kremlev for the presidency ended after 106 delegates voted against holding a new election, 36 voted in favor and four abstained.
Kremlev was elected unanimously in May after Van der Vorst was declared ineligible. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in June that Van der Vorst was wrongly prevented from standing.
IBA, the world governing body of amateur boxing, suspended the Ukrainian federation on Friday, preventing it from voting. The association wrote to the IBA members on Thursday and called for the Kremlin to resign or be voted out of office.
The Extraordinary Congress was postponed by an hour due to a power failure.
Sunday’s decision cast new doubts on the sport’s efforts to retain its Olympic spot beyond 2024.
The IBA, formerly known as AIBA, was stripped of participation in last year’s Tokyo Olympics due to governance, financial, arbitration and ethical issues.
Boxing is not on the original schedule of the Los Angeles Games in 2028. The IOC will administer the Paris 2024 competition.