UCI Congress declines to vote on election amendment
Tensions bristle in UCI congress
The tension over the procedures to elect the next UCI president were apparent as the UCI Congress delegates gathered in the Palazzo Vecchio, with those who have already declared themselves to be behind Pat McQuaid engaging in procedural debates with those backing Brian Cookson.
The first order of interest was the proposed amendments to the UCI constitution coming from Barbados and Turkey which would automatically allow an incumbent president to stand for re-election, but the debate was blocked.
The block came courtesy of Oceania confederation delegate Richard Leggat, who objected to the idea that a new amendment could be put into effect immediately without them being given proper time to debate the proposal with the national federations. He put forth a motion for the delegates to vote on whether the congress would decide on the amendment today, but there was not a majority agreement, and the amendments will not be considered this year.
The decision put one more obstacle in front of Pat McQuaid's ability to stand for re-election, with the somewhat vague language of the article detailing that the "federation of the candidate" should put forth his or her nomination.
McQuaid's native country of Ireland, and his country of residence Switzerland, have both withdrawn his nomination, leaving him to rely upon a novel interpretation of this article which would allow honorary membership in the Moroccan and Thailand federations to form a valid nomination.
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Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.