The counting of the Real Madrid elections has entered a phase of maximum tension due to mail-in voting. Enrique Riquelme's candidacy has challenged more than 1,000 votes attributed to Florentino Pérez, according to information released during election night, in a tally that has been delayed and keeps the focus on the validity of those votes.
EL PAÍS has reported that 400 mail-in votes from the current president's candidacy have been annulled due to a problem with the stamp, and that another 600 have also been challenged. According to that information, Florentino Pérez's candidacy would not have raised any objections to the annulment of the votes already eliminated.
MARCA, for its part, has reported from Enrique Riquelme's headquarters that more than 1,000 mail-in votes favorable to Florentino have been challenged and that the delay in the count could last until midnight, at least.
While awaiting the official result, exit polls continue to place Florentino Pérez as the favorite to renew the presidency of Real Madrid, although election night has become complicated by the battle over mail-in voting.
More than 1,000 mail-in votes under review
The critical point of the night is mail-in voting. What at the close of the polls seemed like an approaching victory for Florentino Pérez, according to exit polls, has turned into a much more tense count due to the challenges filed by Enrique Riquelme's candidacy.
The key figure is over 1,000 votes. Of these, 400 would have already been annulled due to a formal problem related to the stamp, according to EL PAÍS. Another 600 have also been challenged, so the procedure will have to clarify which votes remain outside the count and which can be validated.
This is not a minor detail. Mail-in voting had already been one of the most sensitive elements of the campaign and could have had a significant impact on the final result. The mass challenge now introduces a procedural derivative that shifts some of the attention from the exit polls to the Electoral Board.
The delay in the tally prolongs the night in Valdebebas
The counting began with a delay precisely because of incidents related to mail-in voting. According to MARCA, from Riquelme's headquarters, it is reported that the tally could be delayed for several hours.
The situation has heightened tension on election night. At the alternative candidate's headquarters, shouts of support for Riquelme and chants against Florentino Pérez have been heard, in an atmosphere of strong mobilization after a historic day for madridismo.
The polls had closed at 8:00 PM in the Ciudad Real Madrid basketball arena, in Valdebebas. From that moment on, attention was to focus on the count. However, the review of mail-in ballots has changed the rhythm of the night.
Polls still give Florentino the advantage
Despite the tension of the count, exit polls released during the afternoon place Florentino Pérez ahead of Enrique Riquelme.
AS gave the current president 66% of in-person votes compared to Riquelme's 34%. MARCA had also published favorable estimates for Florentino, with a wide lead before the polls closed.
The key is that these polls are not official results. Nor do they necessarily incorporate the final impact of mail-in ballots or the consequences of challenges. That is why election night remains pending the final validation by the Electoral Board.
Florentino remains the favorite, but the political focus of the night is no longer solely on victory. It is on how the count is resolved.
Riquelme makes mail-in ballots the center of the election
During the campaign, Enrique Riquelme had focused on transparency, the role of the member, and the club's governance model. The challenge to mail-in ballots reinforces this strategy and turns the final stretch of the election into a dispute over procedure.
His candidacy maintains that there were sufficient formal irregularities to exclude a significant portion of those votes. Florentino Pérez's, according to available information, would not have raised objections to the 400 votes already annulled due to the stamp issue.
The image is powerful: Riquelme may not win the presidency, but he has managed to place mail-in ballots and electoral control at the center of an election that many had considered decided before it began.
Historic participation in the first election in 20 years
The day also saw very high participation. The Real Madrid Electoral Board reported that by 5:00 PM, 23,593 members had voted, representing 31.37% participation.
The figure far exceeds the records of previous polls at the same time and confirms that madridismo was hungry for the ballot box. After two decades without elections with real competition, thousands of members went to Valdebebas to vote between Florentino Pérez and Enrique Riquelme.
The process took place in the basketball pavilion of Ciudad Real Madrid, with a strong turnout throughout the day and a last push of voters before closing.
What can happen now
The Electoral Board must resolve the inclusion of challenged votes and complete the count. Until then, any interpretation must be provisional.
If the polls are confirmed, Florentino Pérez will renew the presidency of Real Madrid. But if Riquelme consolidates a relevant percentage and the postal vote is marked by challenges, the result will leave a broader political interpretation: the current president will remain the favorite, but the club will have experienced a much more disputed electoral night than expected.
The decisive figure is no longer just who wins. It is also how many votes are left out, for what reason, and how that decision impacts the final legitimacy of the process.
An electoral night that is already historic
The Real Madrid elections were already historic before the polls opened: for the first time in 20 years, members could choose between two real candidacies.