FIA president Ben Sulayem strikes massive political win despite fierce criticism over his conduct

20:06, 12 Jun

Updated: 21:31, 12 Jun

byTobia Elia

The FIA's General Assembly, which convened today in Macau, delivered an important political victory for current president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, despite the heavy criticism he has faced in recent weeks.

The assembly, as revealed just moments ago, voted in favor of amendments that will bring critical changes to the current statutes and ethics code, which will effectively further increase the powers of the Emirati president.

Specifically, these amendments, among the main points, are expected to move up the deadline for potential presidential candidates to submit their declarations and increase the president’s influence over the selection of FIA Senate members.

Members of the assembly, according to the BBC, approved the changes to the statute with an 83.35% majority, while the amendments to the ethics code received an even more overwhelming majority of 88.83%.

FIA's comment on today's decisions

''The FIA has taken steps since 2021 to strengthen its corporate governance policies," the governing body stated.

"These policies guide the FIA’s operations and ensure its rules, practices and processes are robust and transparent. The proposed amendments to the FIA Statutes are designed to further strengthen processes around governance and confidentiality''.

''They will grant the Nominations Committee more time to examine the eligibility criteria of candidates, and help to ensure consistency and rigour in the electoral process''.

''All proposed amendments were voted through by a super majority of FIA Member Clubs at the General Assemblies, in line with the democratic process which governs decision making within the Federation."

The news comes just hours after a letter released today by the Austrian OAMTC (Österreichischer Automobil-, Motorrad- und Touring Club), which stated that the FIA could have suffered significant reputational damage if Ben Sulayem’s intentions had been carried through.

"Damage to the FIA's credibility as an organisation has already occurred through repeated governance mis-steps and failings," the letter stated.

"These are not anomalies: they are features of a system of governance that is malfunctioning, due to the absence of normal internal debate and discussion. The FIA's standing in comparison to other international organisations is threatened by the self-inflicted wound of governance failure."

"Where there is even a risk of these changes appearing to benefit the current FIA administration, and not the FIA itself, the changes should not be adopted''.

"There is ample time for more careful reflection, and if these are desirable changes, they will still be desirable at a future General Assembly after the next election."