16,521. That was the target number of Barça club members whose support had to be found when the movers of the no-confidence motion against club president Josep Maria Bartomeu started the ball rolling, and as difficult as it may have seemed when they began their campaign two weeks ago, they have reached their goal. The final figure, as explained by Jordi Farré and Marc Duch, was 20,731 signatures, reached on the last day possible. This has been validated by the club and it now means the no-confidence motion will move forward.
It's the latest development in the crisis at the Barça club following the Messi fiasco two weeks ago, when the Argentinian star sought to leave Can Barça but was frustrated and eventually resigned himself to another year at his lifetime club.
"This is the Barça document which certifies that @JordifarreFcb has deposited 20,731 signatures at the club".— Què T'hi Jugues
This morning, the organizers of the campaign explained that the necessary 16,521 signatures had already been exceeded, but that there were still a few hours left and asked for members dissatisfied with Bartomeu's management at the head of the Barça club to keep coming forward, in order to have a margin once the numbers had been validated. In the end, they far exceeded the number required and ended up with 20,731, a record figure.
"We were able to! We wanted to! We did it. 20,731 signatures. Thank you volunteers! Thank you members! Thanks"— Plataforma Més que una Moció
Now the votes will have to be screened by the club, which will create a scrutiny table to confirm or reject each of the signatures. This mixed committee will be made up of representatives of the motion and the club, and a delegate from the Catalan Football Federation who will chair the committee. In other no-confidence motions that have been attempted at the club, between 5 and 10% of the signatures were invalid, so it will be necessary to wait for the confirmation that at least 16,521 are fully valid. It is expected that this process will take about two weeks.
Then what?
If the motion has sufficient numbers, a referendum will be called within 10-20 days, to vote on the motion of no-confidence in the current Barça board. That is, the vote should be held no later than November 13th. Adult club members who have been members of Barça for at least a year and are on the current electoral census will be able to vote.
A two-thirds majority - that is, 66.6% or more of votes cast - is required for the vote to succeed, with a minimum turnout of 10% of all club members.
If such a result in favour of "no confidence" is achieved, Bartomeu and his entire board will be relieved and elections will be called for the club. While there is no board, a management committee will take charge.
If the referendum vote does not succeed in ousting the board, they are safe from a second motion for another year. However, elections will be due within that year anyway, and Bartomeu has already scheduled them for 20th and 21st March 2021.