OLYMPICS-IOC/NEWSER Beijing decision valid despite voting problem says IOC

Record ID: 145426

  • Title: OLYMPICS-IOC/NEWSER Beijing decision valid despite voting problem says IOC
  • Date: 3rd August 2015
  • Summary: NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS
  • Embargoed: 18th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA1Y1QGKT4F7LJ8OSFZ4PJJ41LF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The International Olympic Committee says the vote to elect Beijing as host of the 2022 Winter Olympics was valid in spite of an electronic system malfunction.
    Speaking in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (August 1), IOC Spokesman Mark Adams said an "old-fashioned" papar-based voting method had been used, and would have been fair.
    "The Beijing vote, it was a paper vote, old fashioned method sometimes better. It was a paper vote verified by them and the scrutinisers and was 44-40," said Adams.
    "We'd already planned to have a paper vote if such a contingency happened. It happened unfortunately and so we had a fully verified, proper vote. China was elected," he added.
    Beijing, which will host the event with the nearby city of Zhangjiakou, had been the favourite to win the Games ahead of Kazakhstan's Almaty at the IOC selection meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
    While Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Games to wide acclaim, its bid for the lower profile Winter Games had been dogged by concerns over a number of issues including the city's notorious smog problem, a lack of snow and its poor human rights record.
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