KATHMANDU, Feb 6: The controversial election of Nepal Olympic Committee (NOC) President Jeevan Ram Shrestha for a third term in office has drawn renewed attention of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which is closely monitoring the legal disputes before reaching a conclusion.
The IOC along with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) has decided to observe the multiple legal cases surrounding the disputed election.
Issuing a joint letter to the NOC members on Tuesday, the IOC and OCA noted the numerous legal challenges that were raised prior to the NOC elections and the preceding general assembly that amended the NOC’s statute. The IOC has reached the decision to wait till the legal outcome before taking a position on the issue, reads the letter.
Shrestha was elected as the NOC president in late December by allegedly misusing his power to amend the NOC statute, which at that time did not allow NOC president to run for office beyond two terms, amid court order not to hold the election.
The letter states, “We understand the position expressed by a significant number of members of the NOC General Assembly, however we have also noted that numerous legal challenges have been raised prior to the NOC elections and in relation to the NOC elections. In view of this, we will have to wait until these legal challenges have been exhausted before taking a final position on both the proposed amendments to your NOC statutes and the NOC elections.”
Former NOC Secretary General Nilendra Shrestha opined that since the IOC has not addressed NOC president Jeevan Ram Shrestha or NOC Secretary General Rajiv Shrestha in the letter, it is an indication that the international body has not recognized the current leadership.
“During my tenure, the letter sent by the IOC to the NOC would be addressed to the president or the secretary general,” he told Republica, “The recent letter only addresses the members of the NOC which indicates that the IOC still has not recognized Jeevan Ram Shrestha’s presidency.”
A number of committee members and office-bearers under the influence of Jeevan Ram had firstly defied the Patan High Court’s order on December 2 to not move forward with statute amendment by organizing a special general meeting on December 3, which amended the statute and announced the election for December 28. The amendment had enabled Jeevan Ram to contest the election for a third consecutive term. The clause 25(1) of the NOC’s statute, which was amended later, stated that a sitting president of the NOC cannot contest an election for a third consecutive term.
The leadership then defied a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) to not move forward with the election process. The Ministry of Youth and Sports (MoYS) had written to the MoHA on December 22 to stop the candidacy registration scheduled for December 23. However, as the police personnel from the District Police Range (DPR), Lalitpur, picketed the Nepal Olympic Committee building on December 23, Jeevan Ram moved the candidacy registration to an online platform.
By holding the elections on December 28, the NOC also defied the stay order on the election issued by a single bench of Supreme Court Justice Saranga Subedi on December 26. The apex court had ordered the NOC not to hold the election in response to a writ petition filed by Kamal Bahadur Chitrakar.
The NOC issued a press release on Wednesday to assert Jeevan Ram Shrestha’s claim to NOC leadership. The press release read, “As all the legal challenges in this matter are not final in the court (sub judice), it is not possible to express any opinion at this time. We would like to make it clear to everyone that the Nepal Olympic Committee headed by Jeevan Ram Shrestha is the only official Olympic Committee in Nepal.”
Despite Republica’s multiple attempts to reach out to NOC President Jeevan Ram Shrestha, Secretary General Rajiv Shrestha and Vice President Jyoti Rana, all three office-bearers of the NOC refrained from commenting on the IOC’s letter.