Belarus’ NOC General Assembly election results

Viktor Lukashenko was re-elected president of the NOC by the General Assembly held at the headquarters of the organization on 15 January 2025. His candidacy was supported by 82 NOC members, 2 voted against, 3 abstained.

Dzmitry Dauhalionak was elected vice president (67 in favor, 9 against, 11 abstained).

The new Executive Board of the NOC of Belarus not includes:

1. Viktor Lukashenko (ex officio, President of the NOC of Belarus);

2. Dzmitry Dauhalionak (ex officio, Vice President of the NOC of Belarus, Olympic champion in canoeing, Barcelona 1992);

3. Andrey Barbashinsky (Director of the Belarusian State School of Olympic Reserve, Olympic champion in handball, Barcelona 1992);

4. Aliaksandr Bahdanovich (Chairman of the Belarusian Ice Hockey Federation, Olympic champion in canoeing, Beijing 2008);

5. Olena Zubrilova (senior coach of the national biathlon team of the Republic of Belarus, four-time world champion in biathlon);

6. Irina Malevanaya (Director of the National Research Center of Sports);

7. Aliaksei Prakapovich (Chairman of the Belarusian Table Tennis Federation);

8. Siarhei Rutenka (Chairman of the Belarusian Tennis Federation, six-time winner of the Champions League, handball);

9. Alim Selimau (Chairman of the Belarusian Wrestling Federation, two-time world champion in Greco-Roman wrestling);

10. Liubou Charkashyna (senior coach of the national rhythmic gymnastics team of the Republic of Belarus, bronze medalist in rhythmic gymnastics, London 2012);

11. Natallia Tsylinskaya (Chairperson of the Belarusian Cycling Federation, bronze medalist in cycling, Athens 2004);

It includes representatives of the sports community from summer and winter sports, members of the Athletes' Commission.

Elections of the president, vice president and members of the Executive Board of the NOC of Belarus were held in accordance with the new wording of the Statute of the organization, approved at the Olympic Assembly on 26 February 2021, the Olympic Charter and the legislation of the Republic of Belarus.

The General Assembly held a secret ballot for the above elective positions.

The General Assembly considered the reports and took stock of the Board’s activities in the period from 2021 to 2024.

One of the key items on the agenda of the General Assembly was the report of the NOC Executive Board for 2021-2024.

Summing up the results of the organization's activity the head of the Executive Board Viktor Lukashenko noted that the reporting period was not simple:

Perhaps the period from 2021 to 2024 was the most difficult in the history of sovereign Belarus. At first there were COVID restrictions, then groundless political measures against our athletes.

Three years later, we can state that the sanctions imposed by the International Olympic Committee are doing more harm to the IOC reputation than good.

At the same time, we see the IOC's willingness to return our athletes to international competitions and restore the integrity of competitions, but some federations continue to play a foul game, suspending Belarusians from the tournaments held under their auspices.

The majority of the sports community understands the need to return our athletes to the international arena and assists the NOC in this matter.

Huge work is being done with the IOC and the federations to restore the rights of our athletes to participate in competitions in full format, with the flag and anthem, but first in neutral status.

You know how difficult it is to deal with the federations of winter sports, but recently the ice has broken. I hope that our athletes in winter sports will gradually return to international competitions, just like our teams in game sports most of which have been banned from participating in international tournaments.

In his speech, Viktor Lukashenko also reviewed the performance of national sports federations:

I would like to recognize the fruitful work of many national federations. Your international contacts, diplomacy and smart approach made it easier for us to maintain a dialogue today.

At the same time, I have to criticize some federations for the lack of efforts to build and maintain contacts with respective international federations and other interested parties.

It is wrong to assume that everything will somehow work out on its own or that the NOC, the Sports and Tourism Ministry or the head of state will do your work for you. Therefore, I urge you to take it up a notch and, perhaps, become more creative in your international activities.

The head of the National Olympic Committee also touched upon the upcoming election of the EOC and IOC leadership:
This year, not only our General Assembly has held an election. The IOC will also hold an election in March and the EOC will do it in February. Speaking about the EOC, no significant changes are expected; President Spyros Capralos and Vice President Daina Gudzinevičiūtė will be re-elected without alternatives. Secretary General of the Italian NOC Carlo Mornati will be elected EOC Secretary General - again without alternatives. Yet, the outcome of the election of the IOC President remains unclear. Thomas Bach is leaving. Seven candidates have been nominated, with no one clearly favored yet.

The president of the NOC of Belarus once again emphasized that Belarus' sports industry successfully adapted to all external challenges:

During this difficult period, a huge amount of work has been done by the NOC and the Sports and Tourism Ministry of Belarus, the Russian Olympic Committee and the Ministry of Sports of Russia to reschedule national events to make it easier for Belarusian athletes to take part in Russian championships, cups and leagues and vice versa. After all, as the head of state has repeatedly said, defeating the Russians will be enough to make the Belarusian state and fans happy.

The NOC of Belarus got Belarusian sports delegations into the following competitions: the Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Vuokatti, Finland in 2021, the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022, the Second Children of Asia International Winter Games in Kemerovo in 2023, the First Children of Primorye International Summer Games in 2023, the First Children of Primorye International Winter Games in 2024, the Eight Children of Asia International Summer Games in Yakutsk in 2024, the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024.

Speaking about the activities of the NOC of Belarus, Viktor Lukashenko also mentioned the support provided to sports federations and to large projects to promote the Olympic movement in our country.

As Viktor Lukashenko noted, during the reporting period, the NOC of Belarus provided all kinds of assistance to sports federations. This included help with training national teams, acquiring additional pharmaceutical products, improving the infrastructure, holding advanced training courses for specialists, and promoting children's and youth sports.

Assistance was provided to federations in organizing traditional sports events in the Republic of Belarus.

Financial assistance was also allocated to Olympians to pay for medical services, medicines, healthcare products.

With a view to raising awareness of the principles of the Olympic movement and promoting physical education and sports, the NOC of Belarus has implemented a number of large-scale projects for the general public. Since 2021, the NOC of Belarus has been organizing the annual sports and cultural festival Vytoki throughout the country together with its partners. Minsk hosts Olympic Day, the National Athletes Forum, educational events in various areas, including marketing and media events, and the Olympic Christmas Tree.

The NOC together with the sports community take part in the national charity campaign Our Children. The National Olympic Committee Awards ceremony was held for the first time in 2024. It is planned to hold it annually.

The NOC actively works on the promotion of the national brand of sportswear IROS, the brand of the Olympic team TEAM BY and the publication of the TEAM BY magazine.

The Belarusian Olympic Academy, which has become the center of Olympic education in our country, operates under the auspices of the NOC. The exposition of the NOC headquarters is in operation, and tours of it are in great demand.

To sum up, Viktor Lukashenko said that he took stock of the main activities of the NOC of Belarus:

In general, I consider the work done satisfactory amid the difficult international environment. We enter the new Olympic season with cautious optimism. We will continue to work together towards new victories!

Secretary General of the NOC of Belarus Ksenia Sankovich commented on the results of the General Assembly:

Representatives of summer and winter disciplines, both individual and team sports, have become members of the Executive Boerd, including three Olympic champions and two Olympic medalists. They all showed themselves to be excellent sports leaders. After analyzing the new management team of the NOC, I believe that they are a strong team that is familiar with international agenda and current realities. This will allow them to quickly address emerging challenges. There is a lot of work ahead of us. Plans have been outlined. As the NOC president said, we will continue to work together towards new victories, Ksenia Sankovich stated.

Chairman of the Belarusian Tennis Federation Siarhei Rutenka was elected member of the NOC Executive Board for the first time at the General Assembly.
In his speech, he thanked everyone for this honor:

Within the framework of the work that was done earlier, we will continue to provide assistance to ensure the development of our Olympic movement. The scope of work is large. I am grateful to everyone who voted for me. I will do my best to live up to your trust, he said.

Natallia Tsylinskaya, Chairperson of the Belarusian Cycling Federation, bronze medalist in cycling in Athens 2004, highlighted the teamwork and support of the NOC of Belarus:

“I was with the NOC when I participated in competitions, when I retired, and now when I am the chairwoman of the cycling federation. I have always supported by the National Olympic Committee. I always feel this support and close connection. We have an amazing team. Congratulations to the newly elected NOC president. It is very responsible to be a member of the NOC Executive Board. It is a great honor for me to be elected for a second term. Thank you for your trust. It means that I did everything right,” Natallia Tsylinskaya said.

Chairman of the Belarusian Wrestling Federation Alim Selimau stressed that the tasks for the new members of the Executive Board are clear:

We will do our utmost to change the IOC's attitude towards us. As the chair of the wrestling federation, I can say that close communication, building relations and advocating for your interests always yields positive results. Together with the NOC of Belarus, we have done a lot of work to ensure our athletes' participation in the Games in Paris. We are committed to doing our best. Thank you for your trust. It is a responsible mission. The new Executive Board will convene for a meeting soon. We will work as efficiently as possible.