Photo. FESBA.
The current candidacy for the Presidency of the Spanish Badminton Federation, currently constituted as a Management Commission and led by Andoni Azurmendi, is the subject of serious complaints that call into question the transparency, legitimacy and integrity of the electoral process. Rodrigo Sanjurjo, president of the Galician Badminton Federation and candidate to preside over the Spanish Federation, has addressed a letter to the Secretary of State for Sports, José Manuel Rodríguez Uribes, and to the General Director of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), Fernando Molinero . In this letter, Sanjurjo exposes a series of maneuvers that, according to him, threaten internal democracy and the sustainability of the sports organization.
Strategic hiring and favoritism
Sanjurjo denounces that several people have been hired by the Federation in key positions to influence the vote of high-level athletes. Among the names mentioned are Beatriz Corrales, CARD athlete, and Salvador Franco, father of one of the current CARD athletes, who have recently been incorporated as Technical Staff of the Federation. Added to these hirings is that of Lucía Galvín, incorporated into the sports area as an administrator, when her previous position was that of head of training and coach of the Madrid Federation, a Federation that had previously, by the way, expressed its opposition against the current president Andoni Azurmendi.
These hirings, according to Sanjurjo, do not seem to have justification based on sporting merits or organizational needs, but rather would be aimed at favoring the candidacy of Andoni Azurmendi, generating clear inequality in the process.
The concern is compounded when considering the alleged state of financial stress that the Spanish Badminton Federation is going through, described by Sanjurjo as precarious. There are indications that the situation is so unsustainable that the Federation has been forced to cancel its participation in the final phase of the Women’s World Cup and the Junior World Cup due to lack of financial resources. Added to this is the fact that the audits corresponding to the year 2023 have not yet been published on the transparency portal, thus violating the Sports Law. According to Sanjurjo, “This lack of information undermines the possibility that voters can vote in an informed manner and with full knowledge of the facts.”
This double problem—questionable economic management and alleged strategic hiring—has been interpreted as an attempt to manipulate the electoral process in favor of the current candidacy led by Andoni Azurmendi.
One of the most alarming aspects of the complaint is the management of voting by mail. According to Sanjurjo, many voters have not received their envelopes or ballots, while others have received documents with errors in their personal information. Sanjurjo maintains that these are not simple oversights, but deliberate violations of voters’ rights. With an incidence that affects 20% of applications, the irregularities are concentrated in those autonomous communities that have shown dissatisfaction with the current management of the Federation, which points to a possible intentional manipulation of the process.
In addition, audios and documents have been leaked that show the improper intervention of Federation employees in the electoral process. A PDF file leaked before the official sending of the vote by mail contained ballots with candidates related to Andoni Azurmendi’s candidacy already digitally marked. This document, according to Sanjurjo, has metadata indicating that it was created by a certain “Borja O”, suggesting possible involvement of Borja Oses, the Federation’s Legal Advisor and friend, reinforcing accusations of bias and manipulation.
Sanjurjo also adds that the Spanish Badminton Federation has sent the vote of some club representatives to other people, influenced by Azurmendi’s environment, who were not the official representatives and did not have the right to vote on behalf of said entities. In a sport like Badminton, the fact that 5 club votes can be manipulated to ensure that they are null, added to the incidents in voting by mail, could mean tipping the balance towards the official candidate, laments the complainant.
Another key accusation is the inclusion of salaried employees of the Federation as candidates on the General Assembly lists. Among those mentioned are Arturo Ruiz, Ernesto García, Lucía Galvín and Salvador Franco, who, according to the complaint, would not have served as coaches of the athletes they supposedly represent. Sanjurjo also states that some of these workers have been offering to accompany athletes to vote or to subsequently cover the costs of voting by mail, generating an economic advantage that is not available to the rest of the members.
This situation, added to the fact that some athletes from the Madrid High Performance Center have received their vote by mail from the hands of Andoni Azurmendi himself, and that others have received already prepared and sealed envelopes with marked ballots, constitutes serious coercion and manipulation. of the electoral process. Conversations have been leaked in which it is mentioned verbatim by workers from the Spanish Federation: “We have done it this way with all the athletes to avoid mistakes.” This, according to Sanjurjo, seriously violates the right to a free and secret vote and is more than enough reason for the CSD to investigate what is happening in the Federation.
This use of Federation resources, together with the irregularities and incidents in the delivery of sealed envelopes with the ballots already marked, constitutes, according to the complainant, a serious coercion of the athletes’ right to free and secret vote and a clear violation of the law of sport.
Added to the accusations of electoral manipulation is the abuse of power in the management of the Federation’s resources. Sanjurjo points out that the Secretary General of the Federation, David Serrano, who is part of the managing commission without having been elected by the Board of Directors, and who also manages the email of the Electoral Board, has formally requested on behalf of the Spanish Federation , economic documentation from recent years exclusively to the regional federations that have shown their support for Sanjurjo’s candidacy, also making reference to alleged conversations with the CSD. This request for financial reports and payment receipts has been interpreted as a strategy of pressure on the dissident federations, which according to SanJurjo constitutes a form of extortion that dynamits the human resources of the autonomous federations.
The Federation and its current president, Andoni Azurmendi, have also been reported to the Higher Sports Council for irregularly modifying official regulations to favor certain clubs, such as in cases of promotion to the highest category, just before the electoral process. Furthermore, the signing of economic agreements that transcend the current legislature, for amounts exceeding 490,000 euros with the European Confederation, without the approval of the General Assembly or the Higher Sports Council, clearly breaches the statutes of the Spanish Federation. These actions not only reflect a disregard for the rules, but also mortgage the future of Spanish badminton, further weakening the credibility of the electoral process.
Given the magnitude of the irregularities exposed, Sanjurjo has requested the urgent intervention of the CSD to investigate the facts and guarantee a fair electoral process and paralyze this situation. “The legitimacy of this electoral process and the fundamental values of justice, equality and respect are at stake,” he stated in his letter.
At the moment, the CSD has not issued an official response to the complaints, but the case highlights internal tensions in the Spanish Badminton Federation and the need for rigorous supervision to ensure transparency and impartiality in the management of the sport. .
The outcome of these elections will determine not only the future of the Federation, but also confidence in the democratic processes within sports entities.
