DUKAN, Iraq - A new Iraqi national Olympic committee was elected Thursday as a first step toward letting Iraqi athletes compete in the Summer Olympics.

However, the 30 sports officials who cast ballots failed to elect a woman to the executive board as is strongly encouraged under International Olympic Committee rules.

Iman Sadih Hussein stepped aside after she and a male candidate each received 18 votes for the fifth and final place on the five-member executive board. Officials said they would meet soon to resolve the issue of women's representation.

The new committee president, Ahmed al-Sammarai, was a star athlete and former general who defected from Saddam Hussein's Iraq while attending a meeting in Geneva 20 years ago. Al-Sammarai ran uncontested.

Al-Sammarai promised not to "forget the painful past," when Iraq's sports program was marred by allegations of torture and abuse, and "not let what happened be repeated."

The IOC suspended the Iraqi committee May 17 after the U.S.-led coalition ousted Saddam's regime.

Iraqis hope the new committee will pave the way for the IOC to lift the suspension in time for the country to compete at the Aug. 13-29 Athens Olympics.

An IOC delegation attended the election meeting in this northern Iraqi resort town and will report to its executive board at its next meeting Feb. 27 in Athens, where it might decide to lift the Iraqi suspension.

A number of Iraqi athletes have been identified as the most likely to qualify for the Olympics, mainly in track and field, swimming, boxing, weightlifting, wrestling and taekwondo. The IOC will organize training camps to allow these athletes to prepare for the games.

Al-Sammarai said the new committee would try to erase the stain on Iraq's image in international sports brought about by abuses allegedly committed by Saddam's son Odai, who was formerly the head of the committee.

Odai, a notorious playboy known for a sadistic streak, allegedly forced players to kick stone balls if they missed shots during games. Others reportedly had their toenails ripped out or their feet burned in boiling water, and some were simply jailed and deprived of food.

Odai is reported to have run a torture chamber in the national Olympic committee headquarters in Baghdad. The building was bombed to rubble last year during the U.S. invasion.

Odai and his brother, Qusai, were killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in the northern city of Mosul on July 22. Saddam was captured Dec. 13.

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