Jean Todt has been accused of violating the FIA’s own code of ethics in the run up to the presidential vote by opponent David Ward.
The Briton, who is running against Todt, believes the Frenchman has been using official meetings paid for by the FIA to gain support for his second term in office.
Ward released a statement, confirming he would report Todt to the FIA’s Ethics Committee for what he believes is a breach of the organisations rules.
“The FIA arranges and pays for meetings around the world, including to discuss how regions will benefit from future FIA activities and resources,” he wrote. “It emerges that, at these meetings, a number of clubs have been asked to sign formal written commitments to support Jean Todt’s re-election bid, in the form of ‘support agreements’.
“It is vital that the FIA election processes are conducted in a fair, democratic and transparent manner. I believe that demanding signature of support agreements in these circumstances represents a serious violation of the FIA’s rules, regulations and ethical code.
“The complaint will enable the Ethics Committee to investigate the legitimacy of these agreements, the circumstances in which signatures were demanded, and whether it is an appropriate use of the FIA’s resources for its staff and management to pursue Mr. Todt’s personal re-election ambitions at official FIA regional meetings.”
Todt was unavailable for comment, but rejected the claims when speaking at the Italian Grand Prix.
