The SA Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) ballot scheduled for Saturday should be held on a virtual basis to ensure it’s free and fair‚ Sam Ramsamy‚ the election facilitator appointed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)‚ has proposed.

Some delegates will attend the meeting at the Sandton convention centre in person while others will connect via Zoom.

But Ramsamy said the voting‚ which must be done in secret‚ should be staged entirely on a virtual platform run by an international company called Lumi Global‚ which specialises in hybrid meetings and electronic voting.

He proposed the virtual election in a Monday night email sent to the sports federations that make up Sascoc.

They have until 4pm on Wednesday to respond.

“We are hoping that this will be acceptable to the membership‚” Ramsamy wrote.

With the majority of federations in favour of elections‚ the proposal is expected to be approved‚ although there is likely to be some level of opposition.

The five executive members‚ who enjoy the majority on a Sascoc board denuded by retirements and resignations‚ have alleged that Ramsamy is biased and that the elections cannot be free and fair.

Ramsamy said the meeting would be hybrid in nature‚ with some delegates attending in person and others virtually.

“Some indicated that their respective delegations will be made up of one member attending physically while the other will attend virtually...

“Therefore‚ to ensure the electoral process is free of any interventions and interference [and is] fair‚ transparent and will contain all the elements of secret voting and relevant modalities‚ Lumi Global has proposed that the election be held on a virtual basis.”

Ramsamy explained that only one delegate from each federation would be allowed to vote and only the electoral officer‚ named as Wesley Maringa‚ would have access to all the information.

Each federation must say beforehand which delegate will vote on its behalf.

Voting is weighted in favour of federations from Olympic codes which get three votes each. Those belonging to the Commonwealth Games have two votes and the rest one.

There are eight spots on the board up for grab in the ballot‚ of which four will have to be held by women.

The Sascoc constitution requires a secret ballot.