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SAFA elections on knife edge

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Danny Jordaan (Gallo Images)
Danny Jordaan (Gallo Images)

Johannesburg - Will they or won’t they? That is the question on everybody’s lips ahead of this Saturday’s SAFA elective congress at Nasrec.

While SAFA is set to defy FIFA and go ahead with the congress after appointing its own electoral committee, two interdicts have already been served to stop the congress. Last week Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana filed his papers to stop the congress and was followed by SAFA eThekwini, which also submitted its motion. And City Press reliably learnt a third one was on its way.

On Saturday (March 17), SAFA issued a press statement insisting the congress would go ahead as planned “and no other member, outside or within football, can decide otherwise”.

Last week the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) pulled out of overseeing the election process, sighting “gross violation” of SAFA’s constitution.

Earlier in the week, after FIFA’s intervention through Council of SA Football Associations’ president Phillip Chiyangwa, SAFA president Danny Jordaan smoked the peace pipe with presidential nominee Ace Ncobo.

The parties agreed there was a need to put in place an electoral committee in compliance with SAFA’s Electoral Code.

But, according to SAFA, “nothing in that accord talks of the elections being postponed”.

“The SAFA NEC (national executive committee) met on Thursday afternoon to put together an electoral committee as prescribed by the SAFA constitution ... that committee will monitor and oversee Saturday’s elections.

“The continued talk of Ace Ncobo is not an issue because the former referee is not a presidential candidate any more as he officially withdrew during a meeting brokered by a FIFA representative,” said SAFA.

The latest development throws that truce out of the window as it has now emerged that Ncobo will approach the courts to file an interdict if SAFA goes ahead with the congress.

Ncobo said he would also ask FIFA to invoke article G of its statutes to place SAFA under administration for defying its directive.

“FIFA has no option but to invoke section G,” said a defiant Ncobo, who has already said he would no longer stand. “I don’t have the official word that the elections will go ahead but I have my interdict ready to be filed if it goes ahead. The agreement that was reached was that the process must start from the beginning, including the nominations.”

The former referee said SAFA would be in breach of an agreement with FIFA if it went ahead with the congress. However, he was adamant that there would not be elections “until SAFA does things correctly from scratch”.

“It must start with the election of the electoral committee, not appoint or nominate, but elect. It must be elected by the general assembly not the executive committee which has a vested interest.”

He said his goal was to see unity, with everyone participating in the elections.

SAFA is now facing three bids to stop the congress. SFA eThekwini legal representative confirmed filing the motion earlier in the week.

“The basis of the application is SAFA’s contravention of its constitutional obligations to inform its members of the date of the congress, afford them an opportunity to set the agenda, nominate members of the national executive congress, attend the congress and vote therein. Despite corresponding with SAFA to draw to its attention the breach, it has adopted a cavalier attitude.

“There are other breaches relating to the procedure for nominations and supervision of elections,” said Thobelani Sibiya of T Sibiya and Associates.

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