The AFBC secretary general André Basile Kalong today wrote to the 50 Member Federations informing them that the election on October 13 had been called off.

"The postponement is motivated by the difficulty most delegates have in obtaining visas and the uproar caused by the disputed publication of the list of definitively selected candidates," he said in a letter from the Yaoundé-based governing body. 

Earlier this week, as revealed exclusively on insidethegames, a group of 30 countries had criticised the list of candidates allowed to stand by the Boxing Independent Integrity Unit (BIIU) Nomination Unit.

The list included Cameroon’s Bertrand Mendouga, forced out as AFBC President in August by International Boxing Association (IBA) President Umar Kremlev after accusations of embezzlement, which had triggered this election.

It also included Uganda Boxing Federation President Moses Muhangi, who earlier this year was arrested in his home country and has been sanctioned by the AFBC Ethics Committee and fined CHF5,000 (£4,500/$5,500/€5,200).

Morocco’s Mohamed El Kabbouri was also given the green light to stand, even though he does not have the support of his National Federation.

The IBA responded by threatening the countries involved with disciplinary action after referring them to the BIIU Tribunal for "damaging the reputation" of the Nomination Unit. 

Kalong claimed that he had "been bombarded by numerous calls from certain Federation Presidents regarding the holding or not of the Extraordinary Congress of the AFBC".

Many of the African countries who had protested about the BIIU Nomination Unit back Ferdinand Luyoyo, President of the Congo Boxing Federation, who had been ruled ineligible to stand.

Luyoyo was formerly the Democratic Republic of Congo’s police chief and responsible for the protection of institutions and high-ranking officials in the country, including then President Joseph Kabila, accused of human rights abuses.

He has been sanctioned by both the European Union (EU) and United Kingdom, although the EU had removed him from its list in May 2022. 

The decision to postpone the election could pit the African governing body on even more of a collision course with the IBA.

The IBA had warned, "the AFBC Head Office shall remain neutral in respect of all candidates."

Kalong had pointedly written in his letter to the Member Federations: "I would like to point out that the Congress is a body belonging to the AFBC, and as such, its holding is subject to a decision by the Board of Directors, which convenes it and fixes the place and date."

The apparent breakdown in relations between Africa and Kremlev is extraordinary as until now the AFBC had been the biggest supporter of the Russian.

So far, Africa is the only continent where no country has quit the IBA to join the breakaway group World Boxing.