A decision on which country will stage the IBA Extraordinary Congress, where the election to choose a President will be re-run, is set to be made this Friday ©IBA

A decision on where to re-run the International Boxing Association (IBA) Extraordinary Congress, where a vote will be held to elect a President, is due to be made on Friday (July 15), it has been announced.

Umar Kremlev was elected unopposed at the last Extraordinary Congress in Istanbul in May after his only rival, Dutchman Boris van der Vorst, was declared ineligible to stand by the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) who ruled that him and four Board of Directors candidates had allegedly broken rules on breaches of collaboration between candidates and early campaigning.

But, following an appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that van der Vorst should have been allowed to stand, adding that a formal warning or no sanction at all would have been sufficient.

A number of countries are believed to have put cities forward to host the event, which has taken on extra significance following the announcement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that IBA would again not be in charge of organising the boxing tournament at Paris 2024 after sports director Kit McConnell claimed that "enough was enough".

Voting will be conducted electronically via an independently provided system, IBA have promised.

With travel restrictions and COVID-19 still an issue, online presence and online voting will also be made available.

The Extraordinary Congress will also be live-streamed.

The previous IBA Extraordinary Congress in Istanbul in May descended into controversy where several candidates were ruled ineligible on the eve of the event ©IBA
The previous IBA Extraordinary Congress in Istanbul in May descended into controversy where several candidates were ruled ineligible on the eve of the event ©IBA

One delegate from each of IBA’s eligible member National Federations will be provided with travel and accommodation. 

"IBA is very grateful to those National Federations who have already come forward to express their interest in hosting the IBA Extraordinary Congress scheduled for late September or early October," said Kremlev, revealing that the world governing body’s Board of Directors will choose a venue.

"Convenient travel for as many delegates as possible will be key among the criteria for making a decision.

"I am confident in IBA’s ability to conduct the Extraordinary Congress to the very highest standards."

Van der Vorst had called on IBA to hold the Extraordinary Congress in Lausanne, the Olympic capital, "as an additional necessary measure to show commitment to integrity and transparency."

USA Boxing chief executive Mike McAtee, Swedish Boxing Federation President Per-Axel Sjöholm, Steve Hartley, the President of Boxing New Zealand, and Danish Boxing Association President Lars Brovil were also declared ineligible to stand in the original Extraordinary Congress, with all but Brovil deciding to appeal.

Following the CAS decision, they will now be allowed to stand in the new election.