FEBRUARY 6 - ELECTIONS for a new National Olympic Committee for Iraq will be held on March 14, it was announced today.

 

The announcement follows a controversial decision by the Iraqi Government to disband the previous Committee last summer which nearly prevented them from competing in the Olympics in Beijing.

 

The date was set following an agreement signed in Kuwait this week by the Iraqi Government and Olympics officials, according to Muaanis Abdullah, a spokesman for Iraq's Youth and Sports Ministry.

 

The agreement spells out rules and procedures for "transparent and fair elections," Abdullah said.

 

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Government alleged the previous Committee was corrupt and frequently failed to achieve a quorum because most of its 11 members lived abroad.

 

The move drew allegations at home that the Shiite-led Government was trying to replace several Sunni holdovers from the Saddam Hussein-era Olympic committee, which was once run by Saddam's feared eldest son, Odai.

 

Four members of the previous Iraqi committee, including its Sunni chairman Ahmed al-Sammarai, were kidnapped on July 15, 2006, amid fierce sectarian violence in the country.

 

Their fates remain unknown.

 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) criticised the Government decision as interference in the work of the independent organization and suspended Iraq in May.

 

A compromise later allowed Iraqi participation in the Olympics, but entry deadlines for some sports had passed so only four athletes were able to compete.

 

The elections process will be overseen by a steering committee, and all procedures will be based on the Olympic Charter and the committee's own statutes, according to the IOC.

 

Pere Miro, head of the IOC's department for relations with national Olympic committees, said: "The IOC is pleased to see that clear procedures have been laid out to ensure the smooth running of the Iraqi NOC elections.

 

"We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the NOCI and to supporting Iraqi sport in the lead-up to the London Games."

 

The controversy surrounding the team was a sharp contrast to the Athens Games in 2004, when Iraqi athletes were greeted with a roaring ovation at the opening ceremony -- the first since the United States-led invasion toppled Saddam.