Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein and Sepp Blatter tangled for the right to run FIFA as president, and the incumbent has a significant lead... but not enough to win outright.
There were 209 votes, and nations could abstain from voting as well. If a two-thirds majority didn’t vote for one candidate, then it would go to a second vote with a simple majority.
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Al-Hussein forced a second round of votes by winning 73 votes. Blatter won 133, but needed 140 for the first-vote win. Three ballots were invalidated (so perhaps people voted for a peace sign, Pope Francis and/or “LOL”).
Blatter has been FIFA’s president since 1998 and was running against three competitors before two — Michael van Praag and Luis Figo — dropped out, leaving only Al-Hussein as opponent.
However, the runner-up in the first vote has bowed out before a second vote in the past.
