SOFIA, November 20. . The elected president of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOK), Vesela Lecheva, considered the situation that developed after her election at the BOC general meeting in March “a disgrace for Bulgaria”. This was reported by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency.
“The BOK's activities are being sabotaged, the new leadership cannot function normally due to legal issues, and the election results at the BOK general meeting in March are being disputed,” Lecheva said.
The elected President of the BOC noted that the fairness of the selection was confirmed in two trials, but given the total number of unfounded complaints, it could continue for a long time and the consequences of this will fall on Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Olympic Committee. “Despite the fact that we do not receive salaries, despite what we wanted, without normal communication with the previous management, we are doing everything possible to ensure that these problems do not affect the athletes or the sports federations. The shame of this situation lies with all of us, on Bulgarian sports,” she said.
Lecheva expressed hope that the current situation will not affect the preparations of Bulgarian athletes for the Winter Olympics in Italy and that “a rational approach will solve the existing problems”.
Previously, the Sofia City Court rejected the Bulgarian Weightlifting Federation's request to object to the selection of Vesela Lecheva as BOK president. The court decision noted that “no violations have been proven that could cast doubt on the decision of the BOK general assembly.” Previously, a similar request from the Bulgarian Badminton Federation was rejected. The plaintiffs claim that the general meeting of the BOK and the election of the chairman were illegal, because the meeting was convened and held in violation of the organization's charter as well as the country's laws. The court, after analyzing the evidence, found all the statements to be baseless, noting that there were no significant violations that could affect the organization of the meeting and the election of the BOK chairman, and that all decisions of the BOK general assembly are valid and legal.
It is expected that other similar complaints filed by other members of the BOK will be rejected in the near future, but the process takes time due to the court's workload.
The IOC recognizes Lecheva
In May, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) provisionally recognized the results of the presidential election at the general meeting of the BOK on March 19, specifically the election of Lecheva as the new head of the BOK and the election of all members of the organization's executive board. The IOC database and platform were updated, and Lecheva and the elected leadership of the BOC became the only people with the right to represent the BOC before the IOC within the framework of the Olympic movement and all events recognized by the IOC.
However, the election results were challenged in court, causing the court to receive eight complaints and suspend the inclusion of the new BOK leadership in the Commercial Register. The lawyers noted that the elected president and the new BOK office will only be able to take office after the court makes a final decision on the relevant complaints. Despite publicly announced agreements on joint management of the organization, former BOK Chairwoman Stefka Kostadinova and elected President Lecheva were still unable to establish formal joint work.
