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American Tim Mayer has abandoned his campaign for the presidency of motorsport's governing body, accusing the FIA of "lacking transparency" and "the illusion of democracy".
The 59-year-old said he was unable to stand in the election because the FIA's election rules prevented him from putting together a presidential team.
Mayer said the FIA presidential election was "no longer a democratic process".
He added: "When elections are decided before ballots are cast, that's not democracy - that's theatre. And when member clubs are left with no real choice, they become spectators, not participants."
Mayer is barred from standing by a quirk of the FIA's election rules which means that no other candidate is able to challenge incumbent Mohammed ben Sulayem.
Presidential candidates must submit a list of their prospective vice-presidents for sport, which must be selected from each of the FIA's six global regions.
But the world council list contains only one candidate from South America, Brazilian Fabiana Ecclestone - wife of former F1 boss Bernie and she is already a member of Ben Sulayem's team.
That prevents any other candidate from naming a potential vice-president for sport from South America, which means no-one else can enter the election.
Mayer questioned the process by which only one South American candidate and two from Africa could be on the world council list, and why the loss of eligible members had reduced from 40 at the last election in 2021 to 29 this year.
Mayer said Ben Sulayem was exercising "power without brakes".
He added: "There is absolutely no transparency.
"This is not an overnight process. This has happened over two decades. Mohammed is not the first person to think of ways to restrict the ballot but we have got to the point where only one person can go on the ballot."
The FIA has been approached for comment.
Mayer, the son of former McLaren team principal Teddy Mayer and a long-time steward for the FIA before being fired by Ben Sulayem last year, said he had submitted a number of ethics complaints to the governing body about the election process.
"We strongly believe a series of ethics violations have been committed in this election process," he said. "And we have now submitted numerous ethics complaints.
"Assuming the Ethics Committee finds validity to our complaints, who does this go to for action? The President of the FIA or the Senate President - both conflicted parties. The statutes don't provide for any other method or for any appeal. Where is the accountability? This is how institutions fail.
"I am not a revolutionary. I do want to evolve the FIA to a better place so I intend to use the processes of the FIA as much as is don't believe they are independent or free and open."
He also questioned the appointment of Daniel Coen as a representative for the world council from Costa Rica when the country has no motorsport events listed, which is a requirement of membership.
In a previous statement to BBC Sport in response to a story last week saying that Ben Sulayem would stand unopposed as a consequence of this process, an FIA spokesperson said: "The FIA presidential election is a structured and democratic process, to ensure fairness and integrity at every stage.
"The requirements for the 2025 FIA elections, including the relevant deadlines and eligibility criteria for the presidential list and world councils, are defined in the FIA statutes and internal regulations, which are publicly available on the FIA's website.
"Detailed information regarding these elections has also been made available on a dedicated page on the FIA's website since 13 June, 2025 and communicated to all FIA Members.
"The requirements related to the regional representation of the vice-presidents for sport, and to select them from the world motorsport council in order to draw up a presidential list, are not new. This criteria applied to previous elections.
"As to be expected, preparing a candidature for a presidential list or the world councils requires certain steps to be taken.
"Prospective candidates have had since the publication of the detailed information on 13 June to prepare their applications."
