Nissan (7201.T) shareholders re-elected its CEO and other board nominees at an annual meeting on Tuesday, days after senior management split amid claims of corporate monitoring.

According to Reuters, the Japanese manufacturer is investigating allegations that CEO Makoto Uchida surveilled his deputy Ashwani Gupta. The instability mirrors the period before and after Carlos Ghosn’s departure, raising concerns that infighting could derail a required turnaround.

The shareholder meeting was the first since Nissan struck a new contract with alliance partner Renault (RENA.PA), which sources said heightened tension between Uchida, who supported the deal, and Gupta, who had concerns about several aspects.

A senior Nissan adviser wrote to independent directors about surveillance, which the incoming board must address. The shareholder meeting had no claims questions. The letter was revealed on Saturday.

Christopher Richter, deputy head of research at brokerage CLSA, said the top-level disagreement and lengthy Renault alliance talks had diverted management from creating and selling cars.

“It feels like they are stuck on neutral while a lot of their key competitors are pushing the accelerator pedal to the metal,” he said, noting that Toyota (7203.T) was making large EV and solid-state battery announcements.

Nissan and Renault have yet to finalize the February arrangement under which Nissan would take a 15% investment in Renault’s electric car spinoff, and Renault would cut its 43% stake in Nissan.

Though Tuesday was Gupta’s last day at the company, he attended the shareholder meeting. Investors were surprised in May when he was not nominated for another board term. Last week he resigned.

Uchida told a shareholder that Gupta had contributed to programs from the mid-term plan onward. Gupta declined to answer.

Tuesday’s executive lineup did not include a new COO to replace Gupta. Other key positions remain untouched.

After the meeting, Uchida apologized for Nissan’s decreased share price, which emphasized shareholder dissatisfaction.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 (.N225) returned 25% last year, while Nissan’s shares returned 1.4%, including dividends.

Given Japan’s individual investors’ backing for management, shareholders’ approval of the ten board nominations, including IBM veteran Brenda Harvey as an outside director, was expected.

On Tuesday, shareholders rejected a board-opposed investor’s request for increased payouts this fiscal year.

Shareholders only attended. Reuters monitored a webcast for absent investors.