The press release said the election’s “validity, in light of the objections raised, may be reviewed, challenged, or annulled” at that hearing, when issues raised by Villars “will be addressed for the first time before the court”.
The FIA has been approached for comment.
Villars announced her candidacy in September but, like American Tim Mayer, was unable to put together the required slate of potential vice-presidents from an official list of 29 by the 24 October deadline.
Every candidate must name one person from all the FIA global regions but there is only one South American on the official list, and Brazilian Fabiana Ecclestone – wife of former F1 boss Bernie – is already on Ben Sulayem’s team.
That prevents any other candidate from naming a potential vice-president from South America, which means no-one else can enter the election.
The issues raised by Villars include the “impossibility of presenting an alternative list” and the “unprecedented situation of a single eligible candidate” for South America, plus “the compliance of the electoral procedures with the FIA’s stated principles of governance, democracy, and integrity”.
Fellow candidate Mayer accused the FIA of “lacking transparency” and “the illusion of democracy” when he said in October he was abandoning his campaign for the presidency.
In response at the time, an FIA spokesperson said: “The FIA presidential election is a structured and democratic process, to ensure fairness and integrity at every stage.”
