GUYANA Chess Federation (GCF) official, Yolander Persaud, said that her recent election as Chair of the Ethics and Disciplinary Commission was the greatest recognition of her work in the sport
Persaud, who was elected after two rounds of voting at the FIDE congress in Budapest Hungary recently, was the Deputy Vice Chair for the past six years on the committee.
She also serves as a Director of the GCF.

She told Guyana Chronicle, “To receive the confidence by the General Assembly to be elected as Chairwoman feels like the greatest recognition of my work, and the acknowledgement of my integrity and independence. It is humbling and heartwarming. It also shows a shift in terms of gender equality and inclusion, as I am the first woman to hold this position.”’

Asked about her role in dealing with matters brought before the committee, she said ‘In terms of timeline, we are guided by our procedural rules. I think it is more important to strike a balance with dispensing justice in line with our EDC Code and principles, as well as those of the sports justice system. Our decisions must be fair, balanced and well supported so that all parties can understand and appreciate the outcome.’

In the first round of the election Persaud had 77 votes, while Daniel Florea of Romania got 59 votes. Babur Tolbaev (Kyrgyzstan) was eliminated after coming in third (with 27 votes).
In the second round, of the 161 delegates who voted, the Guyanese chess player Persaud copped 86 votes and challenger Florea of Romania got second with 75 votes.
Next 150 delegates voted with one abstention, with eight candidates running for spots on the ethics body.

The winners were Khaled Arfa (Tunisia) – 103 votes, David Hater (USA) – 95 votes, Olga Baskakova (Kazakhstan) – 79 votes, Ravindra Dongre (India) –79 votes, Alan Borda (Bolivia) –78 votes, Ali Nihat Yazici (Turkey) – 73 votes, Yanori Morera Campos (Costa Rica) –56 votes and Babur Tolbaev (Kyrgyzstan) – 48 votes