Cycling Clear for Elections According to Sports Council

In sporting news, elections for the Belize Cycling Federation have been called for a few weeks from now. The federation said it was waiting for the National Sports Council to approve its constitution, but Sports Council Director Ian Jones told us today that the council only requires the document for registration of sporting bodies under the Sports Act. It has told the federation that it no longer has any obstacles to hold its elections.

On the Phone: Ian Jones, Director, National Sports Council

“The Sports Council does not approve or disallow anybody’s constitution. We can’t say we’re approving the Cycling Federation’s constitution or the Football Federation’s constitution; we don’t have the legal authority to do that. What we can say is that we recognize it – yes, you have registered a copy of it with the Sports Council. And the sole purpose for that is that if this is what is registered here, then this is the rules you have to follow, the guidelines you decided on at your AGM. It cannot be that you have an election a couple months after you submitted that Constitution, but then you decided to follow a different set of guidelines unless it was approved by your AGM, by your broader [membership.] But to say that they’re waiting on us to approve it; I wouldn’t use the word misleading but it is incorrect. Yes, they do have to register it with us in January as with any other federation, but it is not and should not be a delay for calling a date for an election, because we do not approve constitutions.”

Incumbent vice-president Orson Butler is expected to face off with cyclist Alexy Ordonez from Ordonez Bike Shop to succeed Dion Leslie.