WADA announces candidates for independent President and Vice-President election

Election to be held during virtual Foundation Board meeting on 29 May 

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to announce the candidates for the election of the Agency’s independent President and Vice-President. The individuals elected will serve as President and Vice-President of the Agency’s Foundation Board (Board), and Chair and Vice-Chair of the Agency’s Executive Committee (ExCo), playing an integral role on both of these key decision-making bodies. 

There is one candidate standing for election of the President. Incumbent WADA President, Witold Bańka, submitted his application for re-election and his dossier has been submitted to the Board.  

There is one candidate standing for election of the Vice-President. Incumbent WADA Vice-President, Yang Yang, submitted her application for re-election and her dossier has been submitted to the Board. 

About the Election Process 

WADA’s Statutes and Governance Regulations outline the rules that apply to the Board and the ExCo, as well as to the election of the WADA President and Vice-President. The relevant provisions for this election are reflected in the comprehensive Electoral Package. 

As per WADA’s public call for interest issued on 2 December 2024, interested, eligible candidates had until 5:00 PM EST on 31 January 2025 to submit applications to the WADA Director General. To be admissible in accordance with the Electoral Package, a candidacy needed to include an Application Form, two Nomination Forms (each signed by a member of the Board, one from the 20 Olympic Movement seats and one from the 20 Public Authorities seats, as defined in the Statutes) and a Declaration of Independence. WADA’s independent Nominations Committee then reviewed and vetted the applications over the past two months, and submitted the results of its work, including a dossier for each candidate, to the Board on Friday 28 March 2025 as per the election timeline (see below for reference). Further details on their work are provided in Part A of the Electoral Package (see section 5).   

NEXT STEPS 

Campaign Period 

The campaign period will run from today, Monday 31 March 2025, until Wednesday 28 May 2025, the day prior to the election (see timeline below). During the entire campaign period and until the end of the election, all candidates shall comply with WADA’s Code of Ethics and the Rules of Conduct provided in the Governance Regulations, which are further detailed in Part B of the Electoral Package.   

Election Scrutineer 

In accordance with the Governance Regulations, WADA’s Independent Ethics Board nominated independent member Ana Tuiketei as the Election Scrutineer. Ms. Tuiketei will investigate any complaint related to the Rules of Conduct for candidates and oversee the election process. Any questions or concerns regarding the election can be brought to the attention of the Election Scrutineer by email at IEB.secretariat@wada-ama.org.  

Election  

The election will take place during a virtual Foundation Board meeting on Thursday 29 May 2025. The independent President and the independent Vice-President must be elected by a two-thirds majority of the votes (including blank votes) cast by the Board members present at the time of the vote. Each member has one vote, however, as incumbents, the President and Vice-President will not take part in the vote for the renewal of their mandate, nor will the President take part in the vote for Vice-President and vice-versa. 

The terms of office of the current WADA President and Vice-President will end on 31 December 2025. If re-elected, Mr. Bańka and Ms. Yang’s terms would be renewed for a subsequent three-year term, from 1 January 2026 until 31 December 2028.  

Election Timeline 

Below is the timeline for the 2025 election of the WADA President and Vice-President, which is further detailed in Part A of the Electoral Package. 

Any questions regarding the election process for the WADA President and Vice-President should be directed to WADA’s Governance Unit at governance@wada-ama.org.