FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem re-elected unopposed after rivals dispute rules

PARIS (AP) — Mohammed Ben Sulayem was re-elected unopposed Friday as president of auto racing governing body the FIA, after a campaign overshadowed by allegations from his rivals that election rules unfairly kept them off the ballot.

Ben Sulayem’s new four-year term, rubber-stamped at the FIA general assembly in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, continues a tenure that has included disagreements with Formula 1 drivers and a high rate of staff turnover at the governing body.

“Thank you to all our FIA members for voting in remarkable numbers and placing your trust in me once again,” the former rally driver from the United Arab Emirates said in a statement. “We have overcome many obstacles but here today, together, we are stronger than ever.”

The FIA said Ben Sulayem’s presidency had seen stronger finances and ”greater transparency, accountability and professional standards.”

Four candidates declared runs for election but Ben Sulayem was the only one eligible for Friday’s vote. Another, Swiss driver Laura Villars, has begun legal proceedings in France over the election rules.

Villars said in a statement last week that a hearing had been scheduled for February and that, depending on the outcome of that case, the election could be “reviewed, challenged or annulled by the court.”

Villars has support from another would-be candidate, American ex-F1 race steward Tim Mayer, who alleged in October that the rules meant it was “no longer a democratic process”.

FIA presidential candidates had to submit a list including seven vice-presidential candidates from various regions of the world, including a candidate from South America. The only South American on a list of 29 eligible candidates was Fabiana Ecclestone of Brazil, a supporter of Ben Sulayem.

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