Candidate defeated in the last elections for the presidency of Benfica, João Noronha Lopes reacted, through a statement, to the announcement of early elections in the incarnated club until the end of the year, stressing that the Governing Bodies «denotes wisdom in this dark moment».
«I salute the governing bodies of Sport Lisboa e Benfica for admitting the holding of early elections. Although they do it timidly, they denote wisdom in this dark moment in the life of the club. As I defended, giving a voice to the partners is the only way to legitimize a leadership and Benfica, at no time, can fear the will of the Benfica fans,” says Noronha Lopes, hoping that “this moment serves to turn the page and protect the interests of Benfica».
Here is the release in full:
«I salute the governing bodies of Sport Lisboa e Benfica for admitting the holding of early elections. Although they do it timidly, they denote wisdom in this dark moment in the life of the club.
As I defended, giving a voice to the partners is the only way to legitimize a leadership and Benfica, at no time, can fear the will of Benfica fans.
The next election will also be an opportunity for us to return to honoring the best democratic practices. These imply the existence of a transparent electoral regulation, approved by the partners, which guarantees conditions of equality for all candidacies and an electoral act free of any doubts. I will await further clarification on this matter.
However, a concrete commitment is lacking at the time of the election, which should be established now. This decision must be taken free from tacticism and full of goodwill.
May this moment serve to turn the page and to protect Benfica’s interests.”
– .
