AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE Tanzania Olympic Committee (TOC) will go to polls on December 12 in the country’s capital Dodoma; it was announced in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
TOC Secretary General, Filbert Bayi said that all the arrangements for the elections have been finalised.
TOC holds elections after every four years, involving members from both Tanzania Mainland and Zanzibar.
Bayi said that unlike in the previous elections, only 13 members will be elected in the executive committee from 20 members used to be.
The idea behind the reduction is to increase efficiency and promote democracy within the committee in accordance with the constitutional amendments.
He said forms for aspirations will be issued at TOC offices in Mainland and Zanzibar from Sunday to November 20. He added that those wishing to contest for the TOC’s presidential post should each pay a non-refundable 250,000.
The would-be aspirants for the posts of vice president, secretary general, assistant secretary general, treasurer, and assistant treasurer would also pay the same amount.
Those wishing to become members in the executive committee will pay 200,000. Bayi said the aspirants should be endorsed by their respective sports governing bodies.
The Olympic sports associations are eligible voters in the elections as members of the executive committee whose terms of leadership come to end will not vote as per constitutional amendment of TOC.
The deadline for returning the forms will be November 20.
A prominent lawyer, who is part of the three that have been selected to supervise the elections, Lloyd Nchunga said that the campaign shall start after the aspirants are cleared to contest.
“The campaign shall start after aspirants being endorsed to contest and end up a day in the evening before the elections. Other members of the electoral committee to supervise the elections include a lawyer from Zanzibar, Abdallah Mohammed and Harrison Chaulo.”
Nchunga said the screening for the Mainland candidates will be held on November 27th while that of Zanzibar will take place on November 29th.
TOC coordinates for all Olympic sports ahead of their participation in either the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth games.
Officials from the Olympic sports associations are eligible voters and their number in the participation of the elections will depend on their eligibility, among others being active, pay their international affiliation’s membership as well as having an address office.
Meanwhile, Bayi said that TOC’s elections shall go parallel with that of the Tanzania Olympians Association (TOA).
This is because TOA is patroned byTOC. TOC will also hold its elections on December 10. The elections will be supervised by the TOC’s executive committee.
Bayi said those eligible to contest in TOA’s elections are those managed to compete in the Olympic games for three times during the games held in London 2012, Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and Tokyo 2020 (despite being pushed back to next year, they will be still regarded as participants).
TOA’s secretary general, Mwinga Mwanjala said there are about 80 Olympians represented by TOA, which produces to voters in the TOC’s elections as voters.
Mwanjala said those wishing to contest for higher posts will each have to pay 15,000 while those who would go for the executive committee posts will pay 10,000.
