AZIM Bassarath has retained the presidency of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board following elections held  last evening.

Bassarath will enter a fourth term as president of the TTCB following a 31-13 vote in his favour over challenger Dinanath Ramnarine.

These elections were initially set for October 22, 2016, but were delayed for two years because of a lawsuit brought against the board by Ramnarine, former Windies opener Darren Ganga, Anil Kamal, Camal Basdeo, Samuel Badree and Clint Pamphile.

As was reported by Sportsmax.tv last December when the ruling came down from the TT High Court, the claimants argued that “the provisions of the TTCB constitution are flawed in that they promote an unfair election process and gives incumbent officers and persons nominated by them an advantage over other persons who are contesting the elections.”

An executive team of the TTCB is comprised of six officers – the president, first vice president, second vice president, third vice president, general secretary and treasurer – as well as six nominated members after each Annual General Meeting.

Therefore, at the time of each AGM, those 12 persons are members of the board.

As such, the TTCB argued that there were no grounds to justify the Court’s intervention in the elections that were being conducted in accordance with the TTCB constitution.

The Court, in agreement, ruled that the case put forward by the claimants has ‘little support in fact or law’.

The central argument of the claimants’ case is that a block of 12 votes out of a majority of 49 is assured to the TTCB’s outgoing officers and that constitutes an unfair advantage that yields an unjust result.

However, according to the High Court December 17, 2018 ruling: “A block of 12 votes out of a maximum of 49 does not, by any standard, give rise to a majority.

“If the TTCB’s full membership were to participate in an election, the incumbent officers would require a minimum of 25 votes to prevail – far in excess of the stipulated 12.”