The IOC President Election takes place this week and it is actually quite entertaining

The IOC (International Olympic Committee) is electing a new president this week, which will succeed Thomas Bach's 12-year-term (the maximum time). The next president, which will be chosen on Thursday, March 20, will serve for two four-year terms, with the possibility of a third term. There are seven candidates, and the process is unusual... and frankly, quite entertaining: there will be multiple rounds, and after each round the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated until one secures absolute majority.

109 IOC members will vote. One of the candidates, the Spaniard Juan Antonio Samaranch (son of the seventh president between 1980 and 2001), explained the process to RTVE. "In each round, if there is no candidate with a majority, voters are orphaned from their first choice, and within a couple of minutes, they have to decide on their new candidate". Candidates are allowed to vote on themselves, but other members cannot vote the candidate from their home country.

Seven candidates for the next IOC presidency

There are seven candidates awaiting for Thursday's session:

• Kirsty Coventry, Zimbabwean Minister of Sports, and Olympic champion in swimming in 2004 and 2008


• Prince Faisal bin Hussein, brother of the King of Jordan


• Sebastian Coe, British, President of World Athletics and London 2012


• Johan Eliasch, British, President of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, & Environmental Activist


• David Lappartient, French, President of The International Cycling Union and of the French National Olympic Committee


• Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs, Financial Analyst and IOC Vice President


• Morinari Watanabe, Japanese, Member of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, & President of the International Gymnastics Federation

The seven candidates are already at the 144th Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Ancient Olympia, Greece, a session where Bach's presidency will be reviewed. In the history of modern Olympic Games, there have been nine IOC presidents since 1894. The chosen one will take over on June 23, 2025.