How not to run organization elections: Vote buying and outright cheating during elections mark dark episode for Asia Football body | Democracy

Vote-buying, abuse claims overshadow Asian vote

Asia’s troubled football body will elect a new leader on Thursday after a bitter campaign dominated by claims and counter-claims of outside interference, and even allegations of rights abuses. Two years after vote-buying accusations prompted the eventual downfall of former president Mohamed bin Hammam.

From Wikipedia:

Mohamed bin Hammam is a Qatari who was a football administrator and president of the Asian Football Confederation from 1 August 2002 to 14 June 2011, and a member of FIFA’s 24-man executive committee from 1996 to 2011 for more than 15 years. On 23 July 2011, Bin Hammam was banned for life from all FIFA and football related activities by an action of its Ethics Committee. Bin Hammam challenged this sanction in the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the ban was subsequently annulled on 19 July 2012 due to lack of sufficient evidence. However, just 5 months later in December 2012, FIFA handed bin Hammam a second life ban from football after “conflicts of interest” were identified in his role as president of the AFC.