The new statutes are set to include a limit on the length of time an elected officer, including the President, can serve in their position.

The 79-year-old Maglione was yesterday elected by acclamation to complete the term of the late Mario Vázquez Raña, who died in officer earlier this year having held it since 1975. 

Maglione has appointed lawyer Michael Chambers, a former President of the Canadian Olympic Committee and a member of the PASO Executive Committee, to oversee the process.

Chambers carried out a similar process for the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in 2013 following the resignation the previous year of Vázquez Raña as President. 

Maglione has set a target of three months for the new constitution and statutes to be drawn up so they can be presented at a three-day workshop during the Pan American Games in Toronto in July. 

There are then likely to be several more months of discussion before they are formally presented at next year's PASO General Assembly, where a new permanent President will be elected, along with all the other officers. 

"We have to think like a modern professional organisation who understand the needs of the National Olympic Committees, which are all different," Maglione said. 

"We have to follow the guidelines of the Olympic Charter and the statutes must be aligned with ANOC."

Maglione promised that the changes would be carried out in a "crystal clear" fashion and PASO would move "forward democratically", acknowledgement that Vázquez Raña, a Mexican billionaire publishing magnet, sometimes ran the organisation like his own personal fiefdom.

Another significant change is set to be the relocation of PASO's headquarters from Mexico City to Miami.

The timing of the 2016 PASO General Assembly, however, remains unfixed.

Some members favour having the meeting early next year, while others think it should be held after the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

The timing could be significant for one of the favourites, Brazil's Carlos Nuzman, the President of Rio 2016. 

Some believe that an election before Rio 2016 would be an advantage to him as he will not be tainted if the Games do not go well.

Others, however, believe if the General Assembly is held following the first Olympics and Paralympics to be held in South America and it is a success, then Nuzman's position will be considerably strengthened. 

Another leading candidate could be Ivar Sisniega, the first vice-president of PASO, who formerly led Mexico's National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport.

But he is not affiliated to the Mexican Olympic Committee, a situation which if not corrected would rule him out. 

Others who could be in the frame are José Joaquín Puello of the Dominican Republic and Richard Peterkin, the IOC member from St Lucia.

Maglione, who will step down as a member of the International Olympic Committee at the end of this year when he reaches the age-limit of 80 having served since 1996, has promised that he will not stand.

But some delegates pointed out that Maglione recently proposed a change to the constitution of the International Swimming Federation, allowing him to stand for another term as President and remain in the position until he is 85. 


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April 2015: Maglione officially elected interim President of Pan American Sports Organization
March 2015: Maglione to be proposed as Pan American Sports Organization President until 2016
March 2015: PASO leaders assemble to discuss post-Vázquez Raña era
February 2015: David Owen: How will PASO now move to fill the void left by Vázquez Raña?
February 2015: Tributes for Vázquez Raña flood in as questions loom over long-term successor