The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has praised the resolution of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) to postpone the elections of the president and members of the NOC's Board of Directors until the end of Tokyo Olympic Games next year. Elections are now scheduled to be held in September – December 2021. The IOC made this statement in a letter to the NOC conveying the IOC's endorsement of the resolution to postpone the elections following the unanimous endorsement by the NOC of that resolution in a session chaired by Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, president of the NOC, on Sept. 8, 2020. Humaid Al Qattami, vice-president of the NOC cum chairman of the executive office, said, "The NOC is committed to the implementation of the best practices provided for in the IOC Charter, national sovereignty provisions, and the best interests of the UAE sports. It is also committed to the vision of Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to adopt the steps that will improve the sports drive and serve the UAE's Olympic movement. "The resolution to postpone the elections till next year was initiated by the General Assembly of the NOC. It received an overwhelming welcome from the mother Olympic entity, which endorsed the postponement and set a specific timeline for conducting the elections," added Al Qattami. — WAM
