Six months after its suspension, the General Assembly of the International Table Tennis Federation will resume on Saturday morning. Not in person, but in a 100% online formatwith a number of guarantees regarding the efficient and scrupulous operation of the electronic voting system. The session will begin with the election of the eight vice-presidents of the organisation.
Fifteen candidates are running for these positions : Liu Guoliang (China), Virginia Sung (United States), Beatrice Romanescu (Romania), Paul Calle (Ecuador), Wahid Oshodi (Nigeria), Imre Kovacsics (Hungary), Alaor Azevedo (Brazil), Anthony Moore (Australia), Alaa Meshref (Egypt), Zeina Rashid (Jordan), Ryu Seungmin (South Korea), Hajera Kajee (South Africa), Veli Ozan Cakir (Turkey), Ichiro Hoshino (Japan) and Stefano Bosi (Italy).
With an asterisk for two of them : although they did not fulfill the required eligibility criteria , Imre Kovacsics and Alaor Azevedo appear on the list. The ITTF Nominations Committee made this decision considering the timing – their ineligibility was declared on November 12 – and the appeal rights. However, if one of them is elected, the result will only be validated under two conditions: filing an appeal to the ITTF Tribunal against the decision of the nominations committee, and the acceptance of this appeal.
Imre Kovacsics and Alaor Azevedo were associated with Khalil Al-Mohannadi's campaign, defeated candidate for the ITTF presidency in May, who had unsuccessfully challenged the validity of the vote. Robert Jjagwe (Uganda) was also declared ineligible, but it was in June and he did not appeal within the allotted time. He is therefore absent from the list.
Given the rules of geographical representation and the field of candidates, Liu Guoliang, Virginia Sung, Beatrice Romanescu, Paul Calle, Wahid Oshodi, Anthony Moore, and Alaa Meshref are considered strong contenders, while the eighth seat promises a closer race. In addition to this election, the General Assembly will also appoint committee members and discuss preparations for the Next General Meeting and the ITTF centenary in 2026.
