In an unprecedented scene with the history of the International Table Tennis Federation, a loud scandal exploded in public during the Federation’s General Assembly meeting, which was held on Tuesday morning, May 27, 2025 at the Sheraton Hotel in Doha, after a suspicion of frank manipulation appeared in the electronic voting of the Federation’s presidential elections, which led to the official suspension of the session and the lack of adoption of the results amid astonishment and protests of members of member states.
The beginning was normal .. but the end is farce
With the launch of the session, Spanish Secretary -General Raul Kalin announced the official attendance, noting that the number of those who are entitled to vote reached 201 member:
185 delegates present inside the hall 16 delegates through electronic voting «Online» and according to the regulations of the International Federation, this number may not be increased after the official attendance.
Al -Muhannadi won the paper vote .. Then the shocking surprise when making the paper -based paper vote, the Qatari candidate Khalil bin Ahmed Al -Muhannadi outperformed 98 votes, compared to 87 votes for Swedish candidate Petra Surling, which was considered a clear and fair victory. But the big shock was when the results of the electronic voting were announced, as the number of participants suddenly increased to 21 votes instead of 16 – an increase of 5 votes that are not registered in the attendance list.
Worse, the Swedish candidate got 17 of these voices, which turned the equation and immediately raised doubts about a possible forgery.
Confusion .. withdrawal .. and cover up the evidence
With the escalation of tension, the delegations called for an immediate interpretation, but the Secretary -General Calin and the CEO of the Australian Federation Steve Denton were unable to provide a convincing answer about the source of the five extra votes.
The Electoral Committee refused to display the video of the session, which proves the real number of votes online, and even the live broadcast from the Union channel was deleted on YouTube, in a move that many considered a deliberate cover -up.
In a futile scene, Petra Surling withdrew from an angry hall, and announced her victory from one side through the official website of the Federation, without any legal declaration, and without waiting for the approval of the General Assembly.
Official position: suspending the session’s work
In front of the enormity of the situation, the Australian Vice President of the Federation, Graham Simmonds, announced the suspension of the entire session’s work, stressing that “the result cannot be adopted” in light of the presence of a serious defect and the lack of transparency.
The International Sports Court may interfere
The scene is now a candidate to move to the International Sports Arbitration Court (CAS), where resorting to it has become an option to resolve this conflict, which the delegations described as a historical farce that threatens the entire credibility of the Federation.
Khalil Al -Muhannadi: I feel disappointed and indescribable amazement
Khalil Al -Muhannadi said: I am deeply disappointed and surprising what the electoral process witnessed. My deep love of the table ball and my care for its interest makes me reject the division of matters that does not serve our sport, and is not appropriate for its history and status. These elections have revealed an unfortunate absence of the principles of transparency and professionalism that should be a pillar of any work within the framework of the International Tennis Tennis. What happened threatens to distort the image of the union, and undermines the confidence of the sports community in the integrity of its institutions.
According to what was announced, there is an expected investigation regarding what happened, and I stress the need for this investigation to be neutral, impartial, transparent, and that its results are clearly announced before everyone, in order to preserve the right and respect for justice.
I hope that the mind and justice will win in the end, and pending the results of the investigation, I will not make any additional statement.
Because of the procedural violations … Sheikha Hayat Al Khalifa: We demand the return of the elections
Sheikha Hayat bint Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Table Tennis Federation, called for a re -holding the meeting of the General Assembly of the International Federation of the game and the re -elections of the Federation, after what she described as “grave mistakes” that marred the progress of the meeting that was held yesterday at the Sheraton Hotel.
Sheikha Hayat said in a press statement that what happened during the General Assembly “is clearly inconsistent with the regulations of the International Federation”, noting that one of the most prominent violations is “the addition of new countries to the electronic voting list (online) after the end of the official call”, which is unprecedented and inconsistent with the approved norms and procedures.
She added, “At the beginning of the meeting, things went naturally, and the agenda was discussed as decided. After announcing the withdrawal of the Mauritanian candidate, Mohamed Ould Al -Hassan, the competition was limited to the position of president between Mr. Khalil Al -Muhannadi and Mrs. Petra Surling.
And she continued: «The names of the countries that are entitled to vote were identified, which included those present in the meeting hall in addition to 16 members who are entitled to vote online. But we were later surprised by the high number of voters across the online to 21 countries, which is inconsistent with the previously announced number. ”
Vice President of the African Union: Electronic vote is defective and elections must be repeated
Moataz Ashour, Vice President of the African Tennis Federation, described the electronic voting system (online) in the elections of the International Federation of the game as “defective”, stressing that this type of vote opens the door to errors and affects the transparency of the electoral process.
Ashour said, in his statements after the end of the general assembly’s work held yesterday, that “the basic principle in any elections is that the vote is limited to the members actually present in the meeting hall, whether in table federations or others, in order to ensure integrity and avoid such problems.”
He added: “What happened in these elections calls for a review of the result and not adopting, because the mistakes that occurred were clear to everyone, and there is a doubt about the safety of the entire process.”
Ashour stressed that the demands have become clear, which is the lack of adoption of the current result, and the formation of a neutral committee to supervise new elections, away from any parties that may have caused these fatal mistakes.
D. Harda Raouf: A farce by all standards
Dr. Harda Raouf, President of the Iraqi Table Tennis Federation, expressed his strong dissatisfaction with what happened during the elections of the International Federation, describing what happened as “a farce by all standards.”
Dr. He wanted it that there is a clear defect in the voting mechanism, especially in the online session (Online), where the number of participants was only 16 in the last paragraphs, but it suddenly rose to 21 when voting on the position of president, raising many questions about the legality of the procedures followed.
He stressed the need to restore elections, noting that there are “illegal issues” that marred the process, which requires stopping and taking unified steps to ensure transparency and integrity in the future.
At the end of his statement, the President of the Iraqi Federation stressed that Iraq granted his voice and support to the candidate Khalil Al -Muhannadi, based on the confidence of the Iraqi Federation and its support for the principles he represents in seeking fair and fair elections.
The head of the Palestinian Federation: What happened is a crime that is full of pillars
Mr. Radwan Al -Sharif, President of the Palestinian Table Tennis Federation, confirmed that what happened during the General Assembly is a complete crime, whether intentionally or otherwise. Al -Sharif said in press statements yesterday: If there is a intentional intention in what happened, this is contrary to the electoral laws of the International Tennis Federation, and if it is unintentionally, this is unacceptable for this union, which is the largest in the world in terms of the number of members.
The head of the Palestinian Federation added: It is clear that the public was marred by legal violations by some officials who run the session by the International Federation … as 16 union were initially approved, but we were surprised at the end of the screening process and the results announced that there were 21 people who have voted remotely, which is a serious violation of the electoral laws of international sports federations.