Al Mohannadi Appeals Result Of ITTF Election

Doha: President of the Qatar Table Tennis Association (QTTA) and a former Vice-President of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Khalil bin Ahmed Al Mohannadi has formally appealed against the result of the controversial ITTF presidential election.

The vote which took place during the ITTF Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Doha on May 27 saw Sweden's Petra Sorling retain her position as the President following a narrow 104-102 win over the Qatari official.

Immediately after the vote, QTTA expressed its deep concerns regarding the procedural failures that played a role in the outcome of the result.

“The documented roll call confirmed 185 delegates present in person and 16 online, establishing the legal quorum. However, the final voting screen displayed 21 online votes, five more than officially declared, validated, or accounted for. This unexplained increase directly contradicted the established procedures,” QTTA said in a statement last month.

In a statement released yesterday via QTTA's official X account, Al Mohannadi confirmed that he has officially filed an appeal to the ITTF Tribunal and submitted a formal case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

In his statement, Al Mohannadi raised concerns about the transparency and integrity of the election process, while highlighting multiple violations of the ITTF Constitution and Electoral Regulations.

Al Mohannadi thanked those who supported him and condemned the alleged electoral irregularities.

“Your support - before, during, and after the election - reflects our shared belief that the future of table tennis must be built on legal foundations and sound institutional processes,” Al Mohannadi said.

Al Mohannadi highlighted several core violations that took place at the chaotic election.

He noted that despite clear instructions by the Chair of the AGM that voting would take place via paper ballot only, electronic votes were accepted in contradiction to that announcement. He also noted that several associations were registered on the election day, in breach of the official registration deadline, and that votes were accepted from associations not properly verified or included in the official roll call.

He also alleged that the Nominations Committee - the only body authorised to oversee the election process - was excluded from its supervisory role.

“In light of these serious breaches, I call for the suspension of electronic voting in all ITTF elections, not just presidential ones, until legally binding procedures and technical safeguards are established,” Al Mohannadi said, pointing out that the 2017 Dusseldorf elections saw proxy voting was eliminated after similar misuse to protect the legitimacy of the election.

Al Mohannadi concluded by stating that his legal actions are not solely about contesting an election result.

“It is about preserving the credibility of our institutions and the future of our sport,” Al Mohannadi stated.

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