Commonwealth Games Federation election for President set to go to wire

Auckland is hosting the Commonwealth Games Federation General Assembly, where Scotland's Louise Martin is challening Malaysia's Prince Imran for the Presidency ©ITG

Louise Martin's campaign to unseat Prince Imran as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is gathering momentum here but most people still believe tomorrow's election is too close to call.

insidethegames revealed exclusively in March that Martin, honorary secretary of the CGF, was standing against Tunku, who was elected to replace Jamaica's Mike Fennell in 2011.

Martin, the vice-chair of Glasgow 2014 and the head of SportScotland, has pledged to put extra cash back into the 71 Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) if she wins the election at the CGF General Assembly here tomorrow.

In her manifesto, "Unlocking Our Potential", Martin has laid out a plan to bring at least four sponsorship partners on board by 2018, as well as diverting extra funds for the Commonwealth Youth Games, an event she is widely credited for creating.

“I believe that the time is right for a new style of leadership to ensure that together we can fully unlock our potential and deliver on the needs of CGAs and our wider partners, especially in terms of maximising commercial opportunities,” said Martin.

“If we get this right, we can deliver enhanced revenues to support every CGA as well as Commonwealth sports development through greater investment.

“There is also much more we can do to grow the profile of our great sporting movement across the world to ensure that its unique identity is valued and our Games attract the best Commonwealth athletes, sponsors and, critically, future host cities.

"As someone with a proven track record of collaboration and delivery, as well as dedication and passion for our Movement, I believe I am the right person to guide the CGF through the next stage of its Commonwealth journey.”

Image title — Commonwealth Games Federation President Prince Imran takes a selfie with Louise Martin,the Scot standing against him at the General Assembly in Auckland tomorrow ©ITG

Martin, whose campaign has received help from Government agency UK Sport, has widespread support in Europe and the Caribbean but less in Oceania and Asia.

Africa is seen as a key battleground.

Travelling to meet voters is banned under CGF rules so the eight minute speech each candidate is allowed to give to the General Assembly could be vital.

Prince Imran, President of the Olympic Council of Malaysia since 1998 and a member of the International Olympic Committee since 2006, served eight years as CGF vice-president before assuming the top role at the organisation's General Assembly in St Kitts and Nevis four years ago.

He has since presided over the successful Games in Glasgow, although his tenure has also been clouded by an attempt to move the CGF headquarters from London to Kuala Lumpur, something that was fiercely criticised before being abandoned at last year's General Assembly.

Prince Imran's campaign has been much lower key than his rival's but he has vowed that if he is re-elected he will oversee the implementation of Transformation 2022, the CGF's strategic plan and equivalent of the Olympic Movement's Agenda 2020, which is due to be officially adopted here.

“This is a transformational moment for the Commonwealth Sports Movement, as we meet in Auckland to build on our recent successes and valued heritage and move forward together to decide on the future shape and positive impact of the Games and sport in the Commonwealth," Prince Imran said.

Elections for the three position as CGF vice-presidents for the next four-year cycle until 2019 are also due to take place.

Contesting the spots are another Scot, Michael Cavanagh, Barbados' Sandra Osborne, Canada's Bruce Robertson, South Africa's Gideon Sam and New Zealand's Kereyn Smith.

Voting has already taken place today for the regional vice-presidents.

Zambia's Miriam Moyo, Sri Lanka's Hemasiri Fernando, St Lucia's Fortuna Belrose and Wales' Chris Jenkins were re-elected unopposed for Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Europe respectively.

Guyana's Kalam Azad Juman-Yassin retained his position for the Americas after beating the Falkland Islands Mike Summers.

Hugh Graham, President of the Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee, meanwhile, was voted in as the Oceania representative, beating the present incumbent Samoa's Vui Tapasu Leung Wai and Papua New Guinea's Sir John Dawanincura.

Former weightlifter Marcus Stephens, winner of 11 Commonwealth Games medals, including seven gold, was voted onto the CGF's Sports Committee as Oceania's representative.

With so much going on, the formal election as Durban as host city for the 2022 Commonwealth Games - the only bidder following the withdrawal of Edmonton in Canada - is set to be little more than a footnote at the end of the day.