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Ward takes fight to Todt with election agenda

David Ward has set out his agenda for the upcoming presidential elections © Sutton Images

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David Ward, Jean Todt's main rival at the upcoming FIA presidential elections, has published his campaign agenda online .

The website includes a 20-point list of proposed changes to the way the FIA is governed, where it spends its resources and plans to open up the election process. Among other things, the "Agenda for Change" calls for the FIA President to be able to serve in a non-executive role, appoint a CEO and management board, and bring in commissioners for each of the FIA world championships.

"The FIA can give the impression of being antiquated and autocratic," he wrote. "The powers of the Presidency are too wide to be effective or fully accountable. In some areas the trend for reform has been reversed. For example, the maximum possible period in office for the President has been extended from eight years to twelve."

Ward also sets out plans for the income the FIA receives under the Concorde Agreement, saying it should be invested in "motor sport safety, sustainability, solidarity funding of ASN development programmes, and for training of officials and volunteers." In a push for greater transparency and to bring the FIA in line with modern corporate practices, he calls for the president to explain the accounts and future spending plans when they are published each year.

Focusing on future presidential elections, Ward calls for the maximum time in office to be limited to two terms rather than three and has a dig at Todt's attempts to garner early support by saying pre-election support letters should be banned.

"The threshold for nominations for Presidential candidates has been set high which favours the incumbent and deters other candidates," he wrote. "Recently there has also been unfortunate use of 'support letters' at various FIA regional meetings which are designed to elicit public commitments of support before the election process even opens, thereby deterring alternative candidates from coming forward. These are of questionable legitimacy."

The 20 points are published below.

Agenda for Change: 20 FIA Governance Reforms

Presidency, Management, and Location

1. Allow the FIA President the possibility to serve in a non-executive role
2. Appoint a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on a fixed term contract hired by open recruitment
3. Create a Management Board (with representation from each World Council, and chaired by the FIA President) responsible for budget matters, contract and due diligence supervision, and implementation of a multi-year Strategic Plan developed with the World Councils for approval by the General Assembly
4. Convert the Senate into a Supervisory Board (following modern corporate practice of a two tier board structure)
5. Appoint Commissioners for each FIA World Championship responsible to the World Motor Sport Council for day to day management and supervision of the championship
6. Retain Paris headquarters as main administration office and locus of the sporting power and all major contractual agreements

Resources and Club Support

7. At a time of austerity aim to reduce overheads, avoid waste, and reduce travel expenditure
8. Use all the revenue in excess of regulatory costs of the F1 Championship arising from the new Concorde agreement for investment in motor sport safety, sustainability, solidarity funding of ASN development programmes, and for training of officials and volunteers
9. Avoid duplicating the work of the FIA Foundation and the FIA Institute and concentrate FIA activities on priorities that are beyond these organisations' mandates
10. Use any overall operating surpluses to fund development grants for clubs in low and middle income countries

Transparency and Good Governance

11. Publish annual accounts that conform to International Accounting Standards and include a narrative from the President and CEO explaining the overall performance of the FIA, key developments of the year, any relevant issues or related party transactions and future plans
12. Amend the Ethics Code so that it is fully consistent with the 2001 Statement on Good Governance Principles developed by the FIA and the International Olympic Committee
13. Adopt a policy against bribery and corruption to the latest international standards and amend the Ethics Code accordingly
14. Ensure that due diligence is carried out on all external contracts to ensure that they are consistent with competition policies and avoid commercial conflicts of interest

Elections, Eligibility and Procedures

15. Restrict eligibility for FIA Presidential election to Club Presidents or Senior Office Holders nominated by their clubs
16. Restore the Presidential term limit to two periods of four years not three as at present
17. Reduce the nominating threshold to three clubs (one from each member category)
18. Reduce the Presidential list to three: a President and two Deputies for Sport and Mobility
19. Elect the Senate President (future Supervisory Board) separately from the Presidential list
20. Ensure equal treatment to all candidates and ban any pre-election period support letters

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