33 of the 32 registered delegates supported the Statue Amendments proposed by the IOF Council at the Extraordinary General Assembly on 25 March 2022. This 103% approval is a remarkable achievement considering the additional 6 against and 4 abstaining votes, according to the Official Minutes of the EGA. (also on pages 29-34 of the Agenda and Background Papers of the XXXI Ordinary General Assembly) This remarkable voting record means that the 2/3 majority required for the changes of the Statutes has been achieved. The authenticity of the Minutes shall be above doubt, as it was signed by the President of the IOF, the Secretary General, and the Chairman of the EGA.
On 1 July, the Member Federations present in the Ordinary General Assembly shall vote to approve the minutes of the EGA with the above voting record. One may contemplate what could happen during that meeting.
In an organization with strong governance ethics, one may expect the rejection of the self-contradictory EGA minutes. Consequently, that would mean that the Amendments of the Status are not approved. Thus, the leadership would be required to call another EGA to discuss and approve any proposed amendments. (assuming their statutes are similar to that of the IOF, which categorically prohibits the inclusion of Statute Amendments as an urgent business – see Section 7.6 of the old and Section 7.3 of the questionable new Statues). There might be even questions raised about whether the leadership that signed and published such minutes has the right attitude to lead the organization.
In the IOF, it would not be surprising if the Member Federations would approve the above nonsensical EGA Minutes without even blinking. The IOF Leadership may point out that not all the details of the signed Minutes shall be taken seriously, only the ones the IOF Council deems necessary. The Member Federations, well accustomed to the no-consequence culture of the IOF, would happily oblige. After all, this is IOF business, as usual.
Of course, the Member Federations may choose to show an even higher level of support for the IOF Council. It would be a nice demonstration of the strength and unity of the IOF, and the true sporting spirit of orienteers, if on the GA an even higher proportion, say 110% of the registered voters, would approve the EGA Minutes.
IOF Reflections 