Elections for members of the next executive committee of Rwanda Athletics Federation (RAF) have been postponed to January 18, 2018. The elections were initially supposed to take place last Sunday.

The new date was agreed upon during the federation’s general assembly on December 17, which also pushed submission of candidatures to early January.

Sources said the elections were partly moved because some positions lacked candidates.

RAF electoral commission chairman Capt. Oswald Rutagengwa said: "We opted to push the elections to next year in a bid to make sure the whole process and actual voting exercise are free, fair and transparent.”

"Candidates must be very knowledgeable about athletics, and being a former athletic is an added advantage. There is also a level of education (bachelor’s degree) which is required for some positions such as president, vice president and treasurer,” Rutagengwa told Times Sport on Tuesday.

The new committee will lead the athletics federation for a period of three years. Some of the biggest tasks they will have at hand include revitalising the sport, which seems to have lost its appeal to the public, as well as to organise a successful Kigali International Peace Marathon slated for May 20, 2018.

At this year’s edition, 20-year old Salome Nyirarukundo made history by becoming the first Rwandan to win the women’s semi-marathon race.

Johnson Rukundo, the former federation’s secretary-general and Jean Paul Munyandamutsa, the incumbent, have so far submitted bids for the post of president.

Former Rwanda international Serge Gasore, the founder of Gasore Serge Foundation, a charity organisation, has expressed interest in vying for the position of secretary-general.

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