UCI President Pat McQuaid was on hand to see the riders off (Image credit: Sirotti)
With just two weeks to go before the UCI Congress convenes in Florence, Italy to vote in its next president for the next four years, the forces for and against current president Pat McQuaid continue to take the unusual step of proposing to revise the UCI's Constitution ahead of the voting.
Three new amendments have been put forth, according to a UCI press release, supplementing one already proposed by the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF). Malaysia put forward its amendment to Article 51.1 of the constitution in July, which would allow any two nations to nominate a candidate. The proposal included language that would make the amendment retroactive to this election.
The Secretary General of the Lithuanian National Federation sent a letter on August 16, 2013 to the UCI requesting that the transitional clause be removed.
McQuaid's nomination may hinge on the amendment being passed: although he claims that the Article 51.1 language which refers to "the federation of the candidate" as being any federation of which he is a member, his honorary membership in the Thailand and Morocco federations would not be historically viewed as valid for a nomination under the article. Should the amendment pass, it would make opposition to his nomination moot.
McQuaid's home federation, Ireland, and the federation of Switzerland, where he resides, both withdrew their nomination of him for the post.
On August 27, the Barbados Cycling Union proposed an alternative version of the MNCF proposal with firm pro-McQuaid language, stating, "the incumbent President shall qualify on the basis of incumbency."
The Turkish Cycling Federation the next day submitted an identical proposal, suggesting "The incumbent president has the right to stand for re-election without nominations."
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Turkey also supported applying the amendment to this year's election.
"All three amendments were received before the cut-off date of 30 August for submissions to the UCI Congress," the UCI press release stated. "Several federations expressed concern about external interference in the elections nominations process. Federations highlighted that under Article 6.4 of the UCI Constitution, national federations must remain autonomous and resist financial and political pressure being put upon them, and that the Constitution also obliges federations to report any interference, or pressure, being put on them. The Federations of Barbados and Turkey made it clear in their letters that it was this concern that prompted their two amendments."
