Electoral board approves Enrique Riquelme's candidacy; voter registration opens

Real Madrid’s electoral board on May 24 approved the presidential candidacy of Enrique José Riquelme Vives, giving Florentino Pérez a challenger and moving the club into a formal election process. The board said Riquelme’s application met the requirements in the club’s statutes and electoral rules after it reviewed documents submitted on May 23. The decision means the club will hold a vote if more than one candidacy is ultimately proclaimed, under the timetable published by Real Madrid on May 14. Members have already been directed to check their inclusion in the electoral roll through the club’s online member office or at member service offices. ### Who approved Riquelme’s candidacy, and what exactly did the board say? The Real Madrid electoral board said on May 24 that it had unanimously declared “the candidacy submitted by Mr. Enrique José Riquelme Vives valid,” according to minutes published on the club’s website. The board said the candidacy had been submitted within the deadline and met “all the requirements stipulated in the current electoral regulations and applicable legal provisions.” José Manuel de Carlos Grau chaired the meeting, with Juan Raúl Castellanos Tarragó acting as secretary, according to the published minutes. The board also listed Lorenzo Álvarez Martín, Alfredo Revuelta de la Puente and Luis Alejandro Huerta Calvo as attendees. ### What did Riquelme file with the club? (realmadrid.com) Enrique José Riquelme Vives, identified by the club as member No. 41,736, presented himself as a candidate at 5:40 p.m. on Saturday, May 23, the minutes said. The filing included a presentation letter, a list of members making up the candidacy with their signatures and express acceptance, and an electoral program stamped May 23, 2026. (realmadrid.com) The electoral board said Riquelme also submitted a pre-guarantee and bank guarantee required by article 40.B.7 of Real Madrid’s statutes. The board noted one error involving board member José Olivé Pina, whose membership number “is not updated,” but still declared the candidacy valid. ### How did this election process start? (realmadrid.com) Florentino Pérez said on May 12 that he would call elections and stand again with his current board. Real Madrid then published the formal call for elections on May 14, saying candidacies could be submitted from May 14 through May 23. The May 14 notice said the admission and proclamation of candidacies would take place on the day after each filing. (realmadrid.com) It also said appeals against the proclamation or rejection of candidacies must be filed within two calendar days of notification and publication. ### What do members need to do to vote? (realmadrid.com) Real Madrid said members could check whether they were included or excluded from the electoral roll from May 14 to May 18 through the Online Member Support Office for the 2026 presidential elections or at the Member Support Offices. The club also said claims regarding inclusion or exclusion from the roll could be submitted in writing to the electoral board during that same period. (realmadrid.com) The May 14 notice also said members included in the electoral roll may vote by mail, subject to the requirements and conditions set out in the electoral regulations. The regulations are available to members through the Online Member Support Office, the club said. ### When will Real Madrid announce the election date? (realmadrid.com) The electoral board said in the May 14 call that it will announce the date and location of voting “in the event that more than one candidacy is proclaimed.” The club did not publish a voting date in that notice. The next formal milestone is the proclamation of candidacies and any appeals filed within the two-day window set out in the electoral timetable. (realmadrid.com) If more than one candidacy remains in the process after that stage, the electoral board is due to publish the date and venue for the vote.