Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) council election |09 June 2023

Mr Bau (holding the microphone) has retained the seat of BCA president

Michel Bau retains post as president

Seychellois Tukebana Michel Bau has been elected by acclamation to retain his position as Badminton Confederation of Africa president.

Mr Bau ran unopposed and his re-election was during the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) elective annual general meeting (AGM) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on May 25, 2023.  The AGM marked the end of the BCA council’s two-year transitional term and paved the way for a new four-year cycle for elected council members from 2023 to 2027.

The elections saw the appointment of a new council responsible for governing the BCA and ensuring its smooth operation.

Speaking to Sports NATION, Mr Bau said:  “My re- election as the head of the Badminton Confederation of Africa for another four years is the results of my hard work for the past five years I have been in office, bringing stability and progress in our organisation through good governance. I am humbled by the confidence our member associations have put in me and this gives me the strength and courage to continue working hard to bring Badminton Africa to the next level.”

Mr Bau’s re-election as president of Badminton Africa qualifies him to retain his seat on the Badminton World Federation (BWF) executive board as BWF vice-president for Africa.

“As president of the Badminton Confederation of Africa and vice-president of the Badminton World Federation, my experience and expertise will continue to be instrumental in furthering the growth and success of badminton in Africa. I have full confidence in the newly elected council, and I am excited to see the positive impact of the restructured management structure under my guidance,” added Mr Bau who has received words of encouragement as he leads the BCA into a new era of good governance, professionalism, and excellence.

Asked about his wish to Seychelles’ badminton, Mr Bau responded: “It is a good opportunity for Seychelles’ badminton to regain its position among the strongest teams in Africa. But this needs the support of all local partners/stakeholders to make it happen. I am confident that Seychelles’ badminton will get there if adequate resources are provided.”

Mr Bau spent 17 years on the BCA as a council member before being elected as its president in May 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand.

He succeeded the president of the Badminton Federation of Nigeria Danlami Senchi who resigned in January 2018.

During the election in 2018, Mr Bau won 68 votes compared to 41 for his only opponent – Amine Zoubiri who had held the fort since January 2018 when he was chosen as acting president in an extraordinary general meeting held in Pretoria, South Africa after Mr Senchi stepped down to avoid a vote of no confidence. As for Ghana’s badminton president, Yeboah Evans, he withdrew his nomination as a candidate for the post, just to back up Mr Bau to become the new president of the Badminton Confederation of Africa.

Mr Bau was to hold the post until 2021 when there was to be fresh election. Election was organised for a two-year transition period 2021-2023 and he was re-elected unopposed. It was held virtually for the second time running due to the Covid–19 pandemic restrictions on travel.

The two-year transition period was approved in the 2020 AGM to align the BCA constitution with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to ensure that the elected president of the BCA who automatically becomes the BWF vice-president, gets to serve his four-year term during the Olympic cycle.

Mr Bau has also been the Seychelles Badminton Association chairman for 29 years now and was elected vice-president of the Seychelles Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (Socga) in March last year after being an ordinary member since 2001.

Back to the newly elected BCA council, Zambia’s Kingsley Mulenga was elected as the deputy president against long serving Amine Zobiri from Algeria and Botswana’s Mpiwa Bosenogile was elected as the new treasurer against Chipo Zumbrani from Zimbabwe.

Additionally, 11 council members were elected and they are: Odette Assembe Engoulou (Cameroon), Rajen Pultoo (Mauritius), Dr Hesham Fouad Mohamed El Tohamy (Egypt), Dr Jeanette Moneoang Leshota (Lesotho), Simon Mugabi (Uganda), Aubin Houndagnon Assogba (Benin), Dro Honore Zolobe (Ivory Coast), Francis Orbih (Nigeria), Mohamed Moncef Zemmouchi (Algeria), Micheal John Noone (South Africa), and Michael Shamsu Mustapha (Sierra Leone).

Meanwhile, the AGM also approved the inclusion of foundation charter in the constitution:

Due to challenges faced while trying to register the BCA office in Mauritius, the BCA council decided to include the foundation charter as a transitional clause in the BCA constitution. The foundation charter would facilitate the registration of the BCA as a foundation under the Foundations Act of the Republic of Mauritius, pending the enactment of necessary laws for the confederation’s registration. Once the legal framework allows the BCA to be registered and become autonomous, the transitional clause will automatically cease to exist.

Gerard Govinden