The deadline for submitting candidate lists for Benfica’s upcoming elections just passed, and the club’s General Assembly Board has shared the rundown. One detail really grabs your attention: a key list has been thrown out. The “Benfica Vencerá” group, aiming for the Remunerations Committee, saw its bid rejected by the Board. A source from that campaign confirmed the news.
This rejection isn’t random. The election rules, set for voting on the 25th, are quite specific. They cite Point 1 of Article 78 in the club’s statutes. This rule makes it clear: to even run for the Remunerations Committee, a candidate must also present lists for the other three main bodies. These are the Board of Directors, the General Assembly Board, and the Fiscal Council. You need to show up for all of them, even if your lists are separate.
João Diogo Manteigas, who heads the “Benfica Vencerá” effort, only put forward three lists. He decided not to compete for the General Assembly Board himself. Instead, Manteigas chose to back the “Servir o Benfica” campaign, led by lawyer João Leite. This decision, it turns out, was a critical misstep for his committee aspirations. Nazir Karmali was set to be president and Mário Baptista vice-president for the Remunerations Committee under the “Benfica Vencerá” banner.
So, when the dust settled, only a few candidates managed to hit all the marks. Martim Mayer, João Noronha Lopes, Luís Filipe Vieira, and Rui Costa submitted complete slates for all four bodies. They followed the rules precisely, in the order their paperwork came in.
Meanwhile, Manteigas, 43, isn’t slowing down. He is currently involved in a debate with club members at the Benfica House in Covilhã, engaging with fans despite the recent setback to his committee’s bid.