site.btaBOC President-elect Lecheva: International Organizations Cannot Understand Why We Lack Access to BOC Information Channels

Bulgarian Olympic Committee (BOC) President-elect Vesela Lecheva said Monday that international organizations cannot understand why she and her team continue to lack access to BOC's information channels and do not receive the necessary information in a timely manner. "I will give an example - a few days ago a letter was received from the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) congratulating me on the election. You will not hear about this letter anywhere in the official BOC channels. Also the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the European Olympic Committees (EOC) and ANOC have listed my name as BOC President, but this does not appear on the website either. In your opinion - is this normal? According to the IOC - it is not", she told journalists in Sofia.

Lecheva reiterated IOC's stance that she and the newly elected BOC leadership will be the only persons entitled to represent the BOC to the IOC, within the Olympic Movement and at all IOC-recognized events and Games: ‘I am quoting their position at their explicit insistence.’

The newly elected BOC leadership headed by Lecheva has not yet been entered into the Commercial Register due to ongoing court appeals. On May 17, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it has provisionally recognized the results of the March 19 BOC Elective General Assembly. Later, BOC reacted to IOC's statement, attributing it to "unofficial communications, innuendo and diplomatic pressure aimed at pre-empting the decisions of the Bulgarian court and substituting external will for internal order."

On June 3-5, Lecheva attended the Olympism365 Summit: Sport for a Better World meeting from in Lausanne, Switzerland. She held talks IOC President Thomas Bach, Kirsty Coventry, who will take over Bach's post on June 23, EOC President Spyros Capralos and with EOC CEO Jan Lehmann.

On Monday, Lecheva added that the IOC and EOC were surprised that the IOC's May 17 letter could be interpreted given the categorically spelled out guidelines. "Without my signature, and without a decision made by the Executive Board, the IOC will no longer correspond with the previous BOC leadership. This is their decision from last week, of which I was informed", Lecheva said on Monday.

The BOC President-elect added that the IOC and EOC were surprised that the May 17 letter could be interpreted given the firmly spelt out guidelines.

"The IOC is an organization with an extremely well-prepared administration, working with lawyers of the highest rank, so their decisions are well thought out. As far as the Bulgaria case is concerned, they have considered the whole factual situation. This is exactly the reason why IOC's position is so clear and unambiguous," Lecheva said.

Lecheva added that for three months there has been no development in the complaints against the election results, and argued that apparently this crisis was sought deliberately.

"The Bulgarian Olympic Committee has been part of the IOC for 100 years. Its only activity, in the sense of its creation and existence, is related to the International Olympic Committee. It only carries out such activities - it is not a commercial company or a government organisation. So IOC decisions are key and binding. I call once again for wisdom for the sake of the BOC's reputation, preserved throughout these 100 years. As for myself, I firmly state that I have made many compromises during these three months precisely to preserve the credibility of the organization," she said.

"To summarize the decisions that were communicated to me personally in Lausanne - the IOC and the EOC do not recognize another President and another Executive Board other than those that were elected on March 19. All documents must be signed by us to be accepted by them. So I hope for prudence so that the activities are not sabotaged and especially our athletes and organizations are not hindered," concluded Lecheva.