The Boca Juniors elections have been suspended by the Argentine national judiciary due to alleged irregularities detected in the electoral roll. The voting was set to take place December 2 or 3, with club legend and Boca’s incumbent vice president Juan Román Riquelme going up against former president Mauricio Macri. 

The decision was decreed by Judge Alejandra Abrevaya from the Civil Court Nº11 after Macri’s running mate Andrés Ibarra complained of tampering with the club’s members’ roll.

“[We] decree the suspension of the elections of authorities of [Boca Juniors][…] until the situation of irregularities detected prima facie from the electoral roll is resolved,” said Abrevaya’s ruling.

The complaint had been filed on November 15 by the opposition ticket, led by Ibarra and Macri. They claim that 9,000 members were given an “active” status, which enables them to vote.

Abrevaya’s ruling explains that the investigation found discrepancies between the number of members recorded during assemblies and the club’s digital records. There was also allegedly a “disproportionate” increase in active members.

Because of this, Judge Abrevaya claims “the transparency and legitimacy of an act of election of authorities may be in danger or, at the very least, under suspicion.”

Boca published a statement after the complaint was filed, condemning “the inopportune moment chosen [which] shows once again that Andrés Ibarra, candidate of the opposition front, only intends to harm the institution and the electoral process, […] something that a Boca fan would never do.”

Riquelme and Macri have not seen eye to eye since they were star player and president of the club respectively in the early 2000s. Macri was the president of Boca Juniors between 1995 and 2007, which he used to launch his political career. Riquelme, currently vice president under Jorge Ameal, is running for the presidency under his own group, called Soy Bostero.

“These elections are going to be very simple for the fans: Do we want to still be a football club? Or do we want to be used for politics?” said Riquelme in the build up to the election.

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