BEIJING, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has defended its presidential election during its recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Doha, while strongly condemning the disruption that resulted in the suspension of the AGM.

During Tuesday's AGM, Sweden's Petra Sorling was re-elected ITTF president after receiving 104 votes, while her opponent, Khalil Al-Mohannadi of Qatar, received 102. Sorling was proclaimed by the AGM Chair as ITTF president, and will serve her new term from 2025 to 2029.

In a statement released on Friday, the ITTF said a total of 208 member associations registered to take part in and vote on all the decisions scheduled at the AGM, and all the delegates were informed of this at the outset of the AGM.

"The ITTF Constitution authorizes voting in person, online or in a hybrid format," it said.

As per the request of the two candidates, the ITTF said, the presidential election was conducted in a hybrid format, with 185 delegates present in Doha voting manually by placing paper ballot with their vote into the voting box and 21 online voting through the system.

Doubts were raised during the roll-call voting process, as 16 member associations were counted as present online while the final tally showed 21 online votes.

"During the AGM, the total of votes placed by the member associations fluctuated throughout the day's proceedings, as delegates joined and left the meeting (both online and in person). This information was transparently displayed for all delegates during the AGM," the ITTF explained.

Each member association present has one vote, irrespective of whether it is present in person or online, at the time of the roll call or at a later stage during the AGM, it added.

According to the ITTF website, "the AGM had to be suspended after it was disrupted by outsiders" after the presidential election.

The ITTF said that these individuals were neither delegates from member associations, nor members of the Executive Board, Council, Committees or invited guests.

"As the communication of the outcome of the election resulted in the disruption of the AGM and in unsubstantiated allegations of irregularity, the ITTF would like to clarify that the election process was conducted in strict accordance with the ITTF Constitution and Statutes and in full respect of the member associations' rights," it said.

According to the ITTF, since 2020, it has employed secure electronic voting systems to ensure integrity and confidentiality, and the systems were overseen by a company used by several other sports institutions, such as the International Olympic Committee.

"The ITTF rejects the misconceived statement by some member associations to recognize any other result," said the organization. "The ITTF will not comment any further on the election process at this stage and will address any formal complaint it should receive in the appropriate forum."

"The ITTF regrets and strongly condemns the disruption. It will conduct an investigation to determine the various responsibilities and take measures, in particular, to avoid a similar disruption from happening in the future," it stated.

The AGM will need to be reconvened to address the remaining agenda, including the election of the executive vice-presidents, the appointment of the continental representatives of the ITTF Council and the appointment of the committee members.

The ITTF said these procedures must take place before November 24, 2025, when the current term of the ITTF Council expires. ■