World Sailing members have voted in favor of holding a virtual Annual General Assembly (AGM) and Presidential election if the meeting cannot go ahead in Abu Dhabi in November due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The organization asked its members to vote on a written resolution which allows the AGM to take place remotely, to be used if World Sailing decides to stage the event, including the election, electronically as expected.
A spokesperson for World Sailing told insidethegames 59 of 68 members agreed with the resolution, comfortably reaching the 75 per cent majority required for it to pass.
The final decision on the status of the AGM rests with the World Sailing Board, which is expected to give the green light to a remote election when it meets on August 1st,
A committee set up to assess the options for the AGM, scheduled to be held in Abu Dhabi on November 1st, recommended the crunch meeting be held virtually.
The review committee also cited World Rugby - which had a virtual election for its chairman last month, overseen by PricewaterhouseCoopers - as an example of how the meeting can be conducted.
Should approval be given to a virtual meeting by the Board, the resolution would come into effect and would be deleted from the constitution at the end of the year.
Travel restrictions and bans on mass gatherings imposed across the world to combat the spread of the virus would need to be lifted in order for the annual meeting in Abu Dhabi to be held in person as scheduled, which has not yet been completely ruled out.
Staging the AGM virtually was one of three main options considered by World Sailing under contingency plans drawn up in case the key meeting cannot be held as planned.
Under World Sailing's constitution, governed by Isle of Man law, the AGM must take place this year.
Spanish veteran Gerardo Seeliger is challenging incumbent Kim Andersen in the Presidential election.
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