Lassana Palenfo Re-Elected ANOCA President
July 14, 2013
General Lassana Palenfo will return for a third and final term as President of the Association of National Olympic committees of Africa (ANOCA) after being elected by an annual elective general assembly.
The assembly also choose long serving Zimbabwean sports administrator Tomas Sithole as the secretary General.
Sithole who previously served as the IOC Director for International Cooperation and Development garnered 26 of the 52 votes cast to regain the post he once held from 1997, medicine against the incumbent Egyptian Khaled Zein Eldin 25.
Friday’s four hour-long voting exercise in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan saw all the other incumbents elected back to the office with the addition of Lesotho’s Olympic Committee President Matlohang Moiloa-Ramoqopo who captured the fourth Vice President seat reserved for women, prostate after the third round of voting.
Sithole returns to the board where he first served as member from 1989.
“This election was for me to win, it was not for me to lose. I wanted to be elected to come and serve and use the experience that I have gained in the past in sports within Africa,” said an elated Sithole after the second round of voting following a tied 25-25 votes in the first attempt.
“This was a very tight and democratic election. The elected board am sure will be up to the task to carry through the programmes we have outlined for the next four years. We want to improve on our administration and focus on training and talent development ahead of Rio,” offered Palenfo.
The African cultural village that was located at Kensington Gardens was shut five days early after a bitter dispute between the suppliers and the contracted organisers .
Nigeria’s Habu Ahmed Gumel was unopposed and retained his treasurers seat, and so did the First Vice President Algerian Mustafa Berraf who topped the votes 26-15 against his challenger Chad’s Moussa Mahamat.
