By Andrew Warshaw in Zurich
February 25 – An unholy spat that for a short while threatened to throw Friday’s election of a new FIFA president into chaos has been averted after sport’s supreme court as expected rejected a bid to call off the ballot from Prince Ali bin al-Hussein.
On Tuesday Prince Ali’s lawyers appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to order the use of transparent polling booths, six of which he had personally arranged to be transported from his native Jordan to avoid any of the votes being manipulated.
FIFA’s electoral committee, having already agreed to ban mobile phones and cameras from the booths, stopped short of accepting Prince Ali’s further request, leading to a clash of views and potential postponement of the election which would also have prevented urgently needed reform measures being implemented.
In a statement, CAS said that Prince Ali’s request for “provisional measures” to be taken had been rejected by the President of its Appeals Arbitration Division, with the full reasons to be communicated ” in a few days”
In a counter-statement Prince Ali, who is concerned that many of FIFA’s 209 federations may secretly photograph their ballot papers to show that had voted according to instructions from their regional powerbrokers rather than how they pleased, insisted: “My central point throughout the campaign has been the honesty and integrity of the election, principles worth fighting for.”
“I advocated for transparent voting booths on behalf of FA Presidents who want to vote with their conscience, without worrying that someone with a different agenda is looking over their shoulder.
“I fought for them at FIFA and at CAS, and brought transparent booths to Zurich to eliminate any excuse for not using them. I have done all I can. I regret that the system let us down.
“The only positive aspect of today’s ruling is it that the election will now go forward as planned, and the media will be closely watching for any evidence that anyone is photographing their ballot.
“It is now imperative that voters abide by the ban on mobile phones and cameras in the voting booth. I look forward to Friday’s vote and remain as committed as ever to the goal of reforming FIFA.”
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