Ben Sulayem alleged to have excluded competitors from the FIA election.

Ben Sulayem alleged to have excluded competitors from the FIA election.

      Controversial new electoral regulations

      Mohammed Ben Sulayem is facing allegations of creating barriers that make it nearly impossible for any challenger to compete against him in the upcoming FIA presidential election this December. Three individuals—American Tim Mayer and Europeans Laura Villars and Virginie Philipott—have expressed their intent to oppose the current president. However, Soy Motor of Spain reports that "it's not that the candidates struggle to win the elections, but rather they can't even enter the race."

      According to the publication, the contentious new electoral rules implemented by Ben Sulayem mandate that any contender must assemble a complete leadership team of ten by October 24, which must include seven sport vice-presidents selected from a pre-approved list of just 28 names.

      Significantly, this list incorporates stringent regional quotas, with some regions fielding only candidates loyal to the sitting president. The report notes, "For instance, from South America, there is only one candidate, Fabiana Ecclestone, who supports Ben Sulayem—therefore, no rival can nominate someone from that region." The same situation applies to Africa, where both qualifying candidates are also in favor of the incumbent.

      Soy Motor concludes: "Game over. Changing the presidency would essentially necessitate a revolution within the central committee."

Ben Sulayem alleged to have excluded competitors from the FIA election.

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Ben Sulayem alleged to have excluded competitors from the FIA election.

Formula 1 | Mohammed Ben Sulayem is facing accusations of creating barriers that make it nearly impossible for any opponent to challenge him in this December's FIA presidential election.