"Barcelona" President Josep Maria Bartomeu should continue the promise given at the beginning of the year and announce new Catalonia team leader elections today.
From his duties, as required by the "Barcelona" statute, the entire Board of Directors with the president at the head must resign.
Although the new election date must be announced within three months of the resignation of the Board of Directors, there is no doubt that this will be done immediately.
During the election campaign, the club's management will temporarily be taken over by the Economic Committee, overseeing all major internal processes. In the absence of an elected president, the club's funds can only be used to cover the most important expenses, such as payments for services provided, etc. Using budget funds to acquire new players for any club sections is prohibited.
J. M. Bartomeu has been constantly urged to announce elections, but the 51-year-old Catalan, who took over the presidency of Barcelona from Sandro Rosell, stated that he was ready to work until the summer of 2016, when the current term of office and powers of the Board of Directors should end according to the club's statute.
However, in the 2014-2015 season, a series of scandals began to shake the Catalan club.
The club's leadership had to explain the circumstances of the acquisition of Brazilian Neymar, later publicly justify possible disagreements between Lionel Messi and head coach Luis Enrique, the Barcelona club itself was criticized for poor game quality and unsatisfactory results, lost an appeal against FIFA's ban on registering new players, and ultimately had to say goodbye to the team's sports director Andoni Zubizarreta.
In early 2015, J. M. Bartomeu could no longer withstand the pressure.
"I have decided to hold early elections after consultations with the Board of Directors. Until now, I thought we could work for another year and a half, but the tension weighing on the club has caused a lot of damage. It is no longer possible to work like this, and it must end," said the president at the time. - Now that it is clear that elections will definitely take place, I urge all future candidates not to forget to behave correctly and not interfere with the team's fight for trophies. This goal is currently the most important."
The president of Barcelona is elected for a six-year term and can be re-elected, but not for more than one additional term.
It is fair to note that the fact that the Barcelona leader, who found himself in an unenviable position, agreed to announce elections, helped the team to free itself from a deeply entrenched institutional crisis.
Paradoxically, just a few weeks later, Barcelona's performance improved dramatically, the atmosphere in the team's locker room improved, and the Catalans began to dominate their opponents one after the other.
A few missteps in the domestic competitions did not prevent Luis Enrique's team from winning the La Liga, Barcelona also won the Copa del Rey, and on June 6, they triumphed in the Champions League final, repeating the historic achievement of 2009 - winning all the major trophies in one season.
At the beginning of the year, J. M. Bartomeu, who announced the early presidential elections, immediately confirmed his intention to run for re-election. And if at that time his chances of being re-elected seemed slim, now, after the club has overcome the crisis and won three trophies, J. M. Bartomeu's chances are not as bleak as before. On the contrary, it is he, not the opposition, who can attract undecided club members to his side. However, the most realistic contender to take over the Barcelona presidency again is Joan Laporta, who led the club from 2003 to 2010.
MECHANISM OF BARCELONA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
- The Barcelona president is elected by club members with voting rights in elections for a six-year term. Upon completing one term, the president can run for re-election in the next elections, but if re-elected for a second term, cannot participate in the elections for a third term;
- Anyone wishing to become the president of Barcelona (he must be a club member) must collect and submit signatures from 2095* socios by a specified date. Their authenticity is confirmed after a graphological examination.
- The candidate who submits the required number of signatures becomes an official candidate for the presidency;
- If only one candidate surpasses the limit of 2095 signatures within the set deadline, he is declared the president of Barcelona without an electoral race (this is how J. Laporta was re-elected as Barcelona president in 2006);
- If there are multiple official candidates, a special election commission is formed, which announces the election date, regulates the pre-election campaign period, approves the ballot template, etc.;
- Official candidates are given a seven-day period during which they must publicly present their election program, introduce their campaign team, etc.;
- Immediately after that, the active campaign week is announced. It ends one day before the elections. 24 hours before the start of the elections, the so-called day of calm is announced: no campaigning, no debates, no election interviews, etc.;
- All candidates have the right to use Barcelona club infrastructure (e.g. press conference halls, etc.) and equipment on an equal basis without violating the fairness principle;
- Voting day. Calculation of results. Announcement of the winner. Elections are considered valid if at least 10 percent of club members participate. The candidate who receives a simple majority of votes becomes the president.
* NOTE: Until 2008, 1805 socios' signatures were required, but considering that the number of Barcelona socios increased, in 2010, the required number of signatures was proportionately increased.
In 2015, a different required number of signatures may be set.
fcbarcelona.lt
