Dodoo, who won the African title at Nairobi in 1987, pledged to bring stability to the GOC following their recent suspension from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last year because of Government interference which left them with the prospect of not being able to take part in next year's Olympics in London.

But he is already facing a challenge led by Frank Appiah, who has threatened to file a protest to the IOC after he was voted out as first vice-president of the GOC.

Appiah claimed that the vote was "not properly conducted" and had been held after some of the candidates had left the Miklin Hotel, where the event was taking place, in Accra.

Earlier this year Dodoo, a professor at Pennsylvania State University in the United States and at the University of Ghana in Accra, launched legal action against Appiah after he accused Dodoo of using banned performance-enhancing drugs during a career which saw him compete at the 1984, 1992 and 1996 Olympics. 

Ghana was suspended by the IOC in January after then-president Benson Tongo Baba was voted out in favor of Dodoo in an election allegedly influenced by Ghana's Government, which allegedly favoured Dodoo.

The GOC was reinstated by the IOC in August following the passage of the Sports Bill by Ghana's Parliament, the main condition that had to be fulfilled before the IOC would lift the ban.

The latest vote, which started yesterday and ran into the early hours of today, was overseen by Joao Manuel da Costa Alegre Afonso of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa, an observer for the IOC.

Afonso was forced to suspend the session late last night, with delegates shouting at each other over disagreements with nominations for various positions and armed security guards watching to keep order during the congress in an Accra hotel.

The session resumed after two-and-a-half hours to elect Dodoo - the head of the Ghana Athletics Association - as GOC President.

Dodoo won 38 votes against two for Kojo Adu-Asare and none for Emile Missodey in results announced today.

Baba was stepping down as President and not on the ballot.

Deborah Cubagee (pictured), President of the Women in Sports Association of Ghana, was elected first vice-president with 39 votes to one for Appiah, but Appiah claimed afterward the voting process was unfair.

Nii Adote Din Barima beat Elizabeth King by 36 to three for the second vice-president with Nestor Galley elected unopposed as the third vice-president.

Richard Akpokavie was elected secretary general after polling 38 votes against two for Mohamed Sahnoon, with Reverend Richmond Quarcoo eleted assistant secretary general. 

Ben Nunoo-Mensah was elected treasurer.

"We shall make a protest to the IOC because the election was held after some of us who had nominated ourselves to stand for position had left the congress grounds," he said.

But Dodoo vowed to see out the storm.

"One thing that today has taught us is the need to heal the rift that exists among us," he said.

"We plan to use this mandate to execute that and take care of all responsibility and work with all stakeholders to ensure success.

"We know there are a lot of work to be done between now and the London 2012 Olympics and the short time we have to do that.

"However, we take this mandate very seriously and know our role, which is to serve.

"We will work hard to prove that everything that happened here today was worth it and ensure that the youth of this country become the ultimate winners."

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