TEHRAN – Ghafour Karegari was elected as new president of Iran’s National paralympic Committee (NPC) on Tuesday for a four-year term till 2026.

In the elections held in the NPC’s headquarters, Karegari secured 39 votes out of 50 votes.

Jalil Koohpayehzadeh earned 10 votes in the election.

Karegari replaced Mahmoud Khosravi Vafa, who had led Iran’s NPC for more than 20 years.

Khosravi Vafa was elected as president of Iran’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) in late August.

“First, I would like to thank everyone for their support. This is a great responsibility ahead of me since I replaced a great man in the position. Khosravi Vafa is a role model in Iran’s sports in the past century,” Karegari said.

“We will keep moving forward because I have been here for many years as vice president and advisor and I am well acquainted with the Committee’s capacity,” he added.

Reporting by Masoud Hossein