Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Vadim Gutzeit commented on the results of the elections to the National Olympic Committee.
“The elections were democratic. We live in a democratic state, and now we are fighting to ensure that everything is fair in our country. The NOC is a public organization, which, according to the quota principle, includes 170 people. These are outstanding athletes, Olympians, representatives of federations, regional branches of the NOC, citizens developing sports.
According to the Olympic Charter and the statutes, the majority of NOC members are representatives of federations. The Archery Federation is an independent federation that delegated Nestor Shufrich and Olympic medalist Elena Sadovnichuya to the NOC under a mandatory quota. And Surkis was elected to the NOC, according to his statement, from the quota “citizens developing sports in Ukraine.” 99 out of 114 members voted for his election.
But now we already know – and I, as the head of the Olympic Committee – have received letters from Mr. Shufrich and Surkis that they are leaving the position of members of the NOC. That is, the elections were held democratically, these letters are also democratic. We are moving forward, developing our relations and developing a democratic state.
123 votes were cast for me, my opponent Jean Beleniuk received 22. Therefore, you understand how someone works in our country and has respect in the Olympic Committee. And according to the online format, when the covid began, a lot of things began to happen online. Many members of the Olympic Committee are abroad, in different cities. Therefore, I want to say that everything was fair and democratic.”
