The counting of the Real Madrid presidential elections has begun with a relevant incident: 400 mail-in votes have been challenged for formal defects in the first count, according to initial information from the process. The challenge has delayed the start of the scrutiny on a night marked by expectation, polls favoring Florentino Pérez, and a turnout that points to a historic one.
The polls closed at 8:00 PM in Valdebebas after an intense day, with a last push from members in the final minutes. Real Madrid was voting for the first time in 20 years in an election with real competition between two candidacies: that of Florentino Pérez, the current president, and that of Enrique Riquelme, an businessman from Alicante who has presented an alternative to the white president's model.
Pending the official result, exit polls published during the afternoon place Florentino ahead. However, the challenge to those 400 mail-in votes introduces a first element of tension in the count and requires waiting for the full validation of the Electoral Board.
400 mail-in votes challenged at the start of the count
The main novelty after the polls closed is in the mail-in vote. According to initial information from the scrutiny, 400 votes out of a total of approximately 4,000 have been challenged for formal defects.
The incident affects the first block of the count and has delayed the start of the general counting. In particularly polarized elections, with mail-in votes under scrutiny throughout the campaign, this data adds tension to a night that initially seemed to be going as polls suggested.
The challenge does not automatically equate to a definitive annulment. The key will be what the Real Madrid Electoral Board determines and how the validity of those votes is resolved within the procedure.
Polls give Florentino Pérez an advantage
Exit polls known before the polls closed point to a victory for Florentino Pérez. Estimates released during the afternoon place the current president above 60% of the support, with Enrique Riquelme around one-third of the vote.
The latest poll released by MARCA at 7:00 PM placed Florentino Pérez at 65.84% and Riquelme at 34.16%. Other polls also reflected the president's advantage, although with differences in the exact margin.
The provisional reading is clear: Florentino starts as the favorite to renew his term, but Riquelme would have achieved greater support than many expected at the start of the campaign.
Riquelme Manages to Establish a Visible Opposition
Although polls do not give him victory, Enrique Riquelme can leave the day with a relevant political takeaway within the club: having mobilized a broad base of critical members or supporters of an alternative.
In an election dominated by the figure of Florentino Pérez, clearly surpassing the 20% mark and approaching a third of the votes in estimates represents an internal signal. Real Madrid has once again had electoral competition, and the result may leave a more visible social opposition than in recent years.
Riquelme has focused his campaign on the club's governance, the role of the members, and the institution's institutional future. His candidacy has turned these elections into something more than a ratification of the president.
Historic Participation in Valdebebas
The day has been marked by an extraordinary turnout of members in Valdebebas. By 5:00 PM, 23,593 people had already voted, a very high number for Real Madrid elections and higher than the participation records of previous elections at the same time.
The historic participation record in club elections is set at 33,116 votes, in the year 2000. During the afternoon, the feeling in Valdebebas was that the mobilization could approach that benchmark, with queues and a final push of voters before closing. and shifts part of the focus from the polls to the procedure. The official result will depend not only on the trend of in-person voting but also on the final validation of votes cast by mail.