Toko Raičević: The illegal election in the Karate Federation will be dealt with by the competent institutions

The Extraordinary Election Assembly of the Karate Federation of Montenegro caused a real storm in this trophy sport.

Although Montenegrin karate records the best results in the history of the sport, has the most referees with licenses to dispense justice at the largest competitions, and is a successful organizer of numerous competitions, so Montenegro was awarded the hosting of the strongest, senior European Championship in 2028 in Yerevan, there is a great rift in the Federation.

This is confirmed by the Extraordinary Assembly, at which, according to a statement from the Karate Federation of Montenegro, out of 50 delegates, 25 voted for Milisav Jurišević, 24 for Toko Raičević, and one abstained.

Toko Raičević believes that the election is not in accordance with the Law, we are reprinting his announcement in full:

"As a candidate for the President of the Karate Federation Assembly, with the strong support of 24 clubs, I would like to publicly point out serious irregularities in the holding of the Extraordinary Electoral Assembly of the Karate Federation of Montenegro. This Assembly was not held in accordance with the Law on Sports and the acts of the Federation, and therefore its decisions are not legally valid.

It is worrying that a group of clubs gathered around my opponent nominated a councilor for the Budva Municipality Assembly, who, after receiving my email, which unequivocally indicates that the candidacy is in violation of the Law on Sports, withdrew his candidacy.

It is particularly worrying that the same group of clubs, again in violation of procedures and contrary to the Call for an Extraordinary Election Assembly, "shoved" another opponent into the election process just a day before the Assembly was held, and even 7 days after the deadline for submitting candidacies, thus jeopardizing the transparency and regularity of the procedure itself.

"In addition, I strongly condemn the fact that delegates from two clubs participated in the work of the Assembly contrary to Article 62 of the Sports Law, despite the opposition of several delegates and indications of illegal actions, which directly undermined the legitimacy and legality of the entire process," Raičević informed.

Given the evident illegalities, I will file a complaint with the Ministry of Sports - Sports Inspectorate. I am convinced that the competent institutions will annul this illegally held Assembly.

My only goal is to respect the law and put an end to the irregularities that have been committed by certain members of the Federation in recent months, which threaten the integrity and professionalism of our sport. The support of the 24 clubs that have stood behind me clearly confirms the common will to respect legal and professional standards in our sport.