The FIA has voted through changes to its statutes at a meeting of the General Assembly earlier this week.

Proposed statute changes have been voted through by the FIA, with a “resounding majority” in favour of the proposals.

FIA: Statute amendments further strengthen governance and confidentiality

The proposed statute changes included the moving forward of the deadline for candidates in the upcoming Presidential election later this year, with incumbent Mohammed Ben Sulayem seeking re-election – there are currently no confirmed opponents in the Presidential race.

Further proposals included changes to the nomination of members of the FIA Senate – the body that, together with the President, controls the FIA outright.

The Senate consists of 16 members – 12 of which are defined in the statutes as representatives of the president, his team, and members of the two world councils.

The other four, which can be proposed by the President, are then ratified by the other 12 Senate members, with Ben Sulayem proposing that the President should be able to appoint these four members without any Senate oversight.

A further proposal for the FIA’s ethics code, as reported by the BBC last month, was that there “must not be anything in the record of the candidates standing for the election as members of the presidential list that calls into question their professional integrity”, with this eligibility criterion not currently defined in the statutes.

Candidates, and their teams, for the Presidency are monitored by the FIA’s nominations committee, with any ethical concerns referred to the ethics committee – two bodies that are controlled by the incumbent.

At the meeting of the FIA’s General Assembly in Macau this week, the proposed statute changes were met with a resounding 83.35% supermajority amongst the FIA’s Member Clubs.

“The FIA has taken steps since 2021 to strengthen its corporate governance policies,” an FIA spokesperson told PlanetF1.com.

“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 supermajority of FIA Member Clubs at the General Assemblies, in line with the democratic process which governs decision-making within the Federation.”

Amendments to the ethics code were voted through even more comprehensively, with an 88.83% majority.

FIA statute changes come in for some criticism

While the proposals were voted through, not all members’ clubs were in favour.

Austria’s Automobile Association, the OAMTC, had urged FIA members to vote against the proposed changes, according to Reuters.

A letter from the OAMTC, sent without attribution to the FIA’s mobility world council, had said, “There is no urgency regarding these proposed changes … they risk further contributing to the erosion of the FIA’s reputation for competent and transparent governance.

“It cannot be – and is not – a coincidence that changes relevant to the FIA’s elections have been promoted by the FIA’s leadership at the same time as the FIA’s incumbent president has announced an intention to run in those elections.

“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.”

According to the BBC, the letter states that the recent actions of Ben Sulayem ‘are inviting comparisons with the excesses of political leaders intent on deconstructing the checks and balances that come with responsible governance’.

Ben Sulayem’s first term in office comes to an end this December, and the Emirati has had to deal with a lot of scrutiny and controversy over his four years.

Several senior top-level staff have left the organisation over the past two years, with FIA deputy president Robert Reid resigning in April.

Ben Sulayem, who currently is running unopposed for the Presidency, has said he welcomes competition and is confident of the support of the majority of FIA members.

“I only have to answer to my members. And they are happy. Actually, they are very happy. They are extremely happy,” he said.

Recently, PlanetF1.com revealed that Ben Sulayem has closed in significantly on a second term as FIA President, following the issuing of letters of support from American, African, and Middle East FIA member clubs.

The chairman of Motorsport UK, David Richards, is too old to run in the presidential elections later this year while Carlos Sainz Snr. – the father of current Williams F1 driver Carlos Sainz – has indicated consideration for entering his name into the running.

However, sources have suggested to PlanetF1.com that Sainz has opted against running for election against Ben Sulayem.

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