BULGARIA'S International Olympic Committee representative Ivan Slavkov, currently under suspension for alleged corruption, is expected to formally resign from the IOC in an attempt to retain his post as head of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee.
Slavkov was suspended in August 2004 after a BBC documentary alleged that he was involved in corruption. He was caught on tape discussing how votes could be bought "under the table" in the bidding to host the 2012 Olympic Games.
IOC chiefs recommended that Slavkov be expelled from the organisation for damaging the image of the Olympics. A final decision is to be made at a full meeting of the IOC in Singapore in July.
A majority of two-thirds of the votes of the members will be needed to axe Slavkov.
"The executive board has considered that Mr. Slavkov has not abided by the Olympic charter and has tarnished the reputation of the IOC. There is zero tolerance for unethical behavior in the IOC and today's decision reinforces this position," IOC president Jacques Rogge said in November, following the decision to recommend Slavkov's expulsion.
Slavkov and Rogge met earlier this year to discuss what would be the best decision for the president of the BOC and the IOC as a whole.
Following their conversation and subsequent correspondence, it is expected that Slavkov will not go to the Singapore meeting. He will most likely resign from his duties in the IOC in order to keep his BOC post and work on the promotion of Bulgaria's candidature for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
In May 2005, South Korean IOC vice-president Kim Un-Yong resigned rather than face an expulsion vote in July. He was sentenced in June 2004 following his conviction on charges of misusing $3.8 million from the World Taekwondo Federation, the World Taekwondo Headquarters, and $676 000 in donations from South Korea's Samsung Electronics.
Slavkov's former press agent Atanas Karaivanov told Radio Gong that Slavkov had few options.
"Slavkov has two options during the IOC meeting in Singapore in June. He can talk to the members for 20 minutes and try to convince them of his innocence, or he can stay away from the meeting and send a written explanation. Discussion of his case cannot be postponed for any later date, because it is a special item on the agenda of the meeting. The best thing Slavkov could do is to resign from his duties in the IOC, as the Korean representative Kim did earlier this year. In the event of resignation, any member is allowed to keep his current positions in his country," Karaivanov said.
"Rogge told me that it is most likely that Slavkov is going to be expelled by an unanimous decision following the voting in Singapore. At the moment, there is no other Bulgarian representative who will take his position in the IOC. Rogge also told me that Bulgaria must concentrate its efforts on its candidature for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games, which is considered very seriously by the IOC. He assured me that the scandal involving Slavkov will not interfere in any way with this candidature," Karaivanov said.
A day after Karaivanov's statement, Slavkov issued a media statement.
"My trip to Singapore is a matter of personal choice, so I do not understand the speculation regarding it. Maybe some media or some individuals would like to stop me from going to Singapore, but this decision does not depend on them. If someone would like to sponsor my trip to Singapore, I am open to suggestions. Everything I had to say, regarding the issue, I have said in my last letter to Jacques Rogge. This letter may be found in the official documentation archives at the IOC, so any journalist who is interested may read it and get to know my position on this issue," Slavkov said.