Santos election picture takes shape after eligibility row | OneFootball

Santos’ election picture is clarifying after a row over eligibility, with the Deliberative Council keeping the 10-year membership rule and no requirement to have served as a councillor, Globo.com reports.

The existing criteria will be written into the new internal regulations, reflecting supporter protests during the voting days.

The statute commission had sought two council terms, a plan that drew demonstrations at Vila Belmiro. At least three candidates are expected, and president Marcelo Teixeira has not signalled re-election or a nominee.

That stance echoes 2023, when he declared on 16 November, less than a month before the 9 December poll.

Lawyer Ivan Luduvice, vice on Ricardo Agostinho’s slate that finished fourth with 1,011 votes, is presenting himself as a pre-candidate and has criticised the current board online.

Maurício Maruca and Rodrigo Marino, second and third in 2023 with a combined 2,451 votes, are preparing a joint bid. “I became friends with Maruca after the last election, we kept talking, he brought a possibility and we sat with the group that guarantees the project will happen,” said Marino to Bolados Podcast.

“We are getting to work and have all the material, engineer, builder and architect. We have financial, fiscal and administrative planning to back the 95% Maruca mentions. Nobody knows 100% because it is all very closed.”

Separately, the council approved shifting the vote from the second weekend of December to the third weekend of October. The change still needs other statute articles passed and a General Assembly, and councillors will decide if it applies this year or from 2029.

Source: Globo.com