According to the KOKSH, the meeting was held at the request of the more than two thirds of members, where they were asked to vote for the dismissal of Bezhani.

Bezhani was removed as the motion received 44 votes in favour and nine against with one invalid following a secret ballot.

Bezhani has been President of the KOKSH since 2013 and was re-elected in 2017 after comfortably seeing off the challenge of Ilir Trebicka.

The reasons behind the axing of Bezhani, Albania’s Chef de Mission at the London 2012 Olympic Games, are not yet clear.

Vice-president Vojo Malo has taken on the role of acting head of the KOKSH until the staging of the next Electoral Assembly, although the date has yet to be confirmed.

Malo chaired the KOKSH Extraordinary General Assembly in the absence of Bezhani.

A total of 57 out of the 75 delegated participated in the meeting, which the KOKSH said "makes the Assembly valid to make decisions" with 76 per cent of members present.

As well as dismissing Bezhani, members unanimously approved the draft statute presented by the KOKSH’s Technical Committee.

Three "controversial issues" brought forward following the move includes "members with individual title will not be voting members of the NOC Assembly" and "the NOC candidate for President does not constitute an obstacle to being involved in politics".

The other issue approved was that the "Olympic sports associations enjoy the right to one vote in the Assembly of the NOC, from two votes they had before".

Rovena Golemi, Klementina Caushaj and Reshard Kellici were elected as members of the Verification and Ethics Commission following another secret ballot.

After the meeting, the KOKSH announced the statute changes had received the approval of Albania’s Ministry of the Education, Sports and Youth, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the European Olympic Committee (EOC).

"Among other things, we remind you that the IOC has welcomed the decisions issued by this Assembly, considering them valid and extremely important for the future of the Olympic Movement in our country," a statement from the KOKSH read.

"Following the implementation of the resolution adopted by the Assembly, the NOC is determined to follow closely the steps for an accurate and smooth process until the full implementation of the resolution."

A letter sent to Malo and signed by James Macleod, director of Olympic Solidarity and NOC Relations at the IOC and EOC secretary general Raffaele Pagnozzi welcomed the changes.

"We have taken note of the decisions taken by your NOC General Assembly, and we sincerely hope that this can now pave the way for a smooth and swift conclusion of your NOC’s election process, so as to enable your NOC to focus fully on its mission, responsibilities and activities for the Olympic Movement and the athletes in Albania, and best prepare for the forthcoming events, particularly the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020," the letter read.

"Thank you for your cooperation and please keep us informed of the next steps."

In November 2019, Bezhani issued a statement claiming secretary general Stavri Bello was facing criminal charges and had been sacked because of "serious abuses, violations of the law".

Bello said Bezhani's allegations were baseless and "damaging to the image of the NOC".

Bezhani, a former wrestler, also made complaints against Bello and the NOC treasurer in 2018 about administrative procedures and finance, but the case was dropped in court due to a lack of evidence.