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A French court has ruled that the FIA presidential vote is clear to go ahead later this month, but judges will hear allegations of potential irregularities surrounding the election system early next year.
Candidate Laura Villars had been granted an emergency hearing in the Paris Judicial Court to hear complaints that the process to elect the next president was unfair, as rivals to Mohammed Ben Sulayem were unable to put themselves forward.
This came after it emerged that due to quirks in the system, no one other than Ben Sulayem could pull together the mandatory full Presidential List of candidates that are necessary to qualify to stand in the ballot.
The emergency hearing, which was heard on Wednesday, was due to rule on whether Interim Relief should be granted to halt the election until a definite ruling could be made by the court.
However, judge Malik Chapuis ruled that there were no reasons to stop the election from going ahead on December 12. Ben Sulayem is the only candidate standing.
But Judge Chapuis did make clear that there were grounds for a more detailed examination of the matters in hand to take place – with a fresh hearing scheduled on February 16, 2026.
Robin Binsard, the lawyer representing Villars, said: “The emergency-proceedings judge held that this dispute belongs before the trial court, and we will therefore continue this case against the FIA before the judges who hear matters on the merits.”
The hearing next February will examine in detail the election process, and see if Villars’ complaints about the election process are enough to potentially review, challenge or annul the election.
According to a statement issued by Villars, the main issues at stake are that no one other than Ben Sulayem is able to put forward a Presidential List, that there were no alternative candidates to stand for the World Motor Sport Council in South America, the transparency and functioning of the Nominations Committee; and the compliance of the electoral procedures with the FIA’s stated principles of governance, democracy, and integrity.
The FIA welcomed the decision by the French court to allow the election to go ahead at the FIA General Assemblies gathering in Uzbekistan.
A statement from FIA said: “The French Court has issued its decision on 3rd December, confirming that the election for the President of the FIA will proceed on 12th December at the FIA General Assemblies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
“The FIA remains focused on the forthcoming General Assemblies and discussing with its member clubs globally important issues for both motorsport and automotive mobility.”
