FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta has resigned on Monday morning, alongside part of the board, to be able to stand for re-election next month. This is an obligatory rule according to the club's status: he needs to resign three weeks before the election, slated for March 15, in which 140,000 club members will decide the new president.
Other members of the board, including vice-presidents Elena Fort and Rafael Escudero, have also resigned. Between this point and June 30, the club president will be Rafael Yuste, until the elected president will take over.
Laporta remains the main favourite to be re-elected, but there are other candidates: Victor Font, Xavier Vilajoana and Marc Ciria. They claim they will bring the club more financial stability and transparency, with Font adding that he wants to move on "from a personalistic model, typical of football clubs in the 80s". Between February 23 and March 2 the period to submit proposed candidacies will open, and Laporta is expected to be elected again, four years after being elected with 54.28% of the votes.