Calderon gets most votes in chaotic Real poll

MADRID, July 3 (Reuters) Former club director Ramon Calderon has said he was the winner of the Real Madrid presidential election, but the victory was clouded in confusion after arguments over the validity of the postal vote.

The 55-year-old lawyer said he had narrowly beaten Juan Palacios in yesterday's poll, but was not declared the official winner because of doubts over whether or not the postal vote will be included in the final result.

''This candidate has won the elections,'' Calderon told a news conference yesterday. ''The board is delaying the announcement of my victory because one of its members is trying to persuade the other candidates to challenge the result.

Minutes later rival candidate Juan Miguel Villar Mir announced he would challenge the result to ensure votes sent by post were included in the poll.

''Mr Calderon can shut up and stop celebrating a victory,'' said the businessman and former politician. ''The votes sent by post have not yet been counted.'' A spokesman for the club confirmed that Calderon had received 8,344 votes, 246 more than rival candidate Juan Palacios and 1,642 more than Villar Mir.

The other two candidates, former president Lorenzo Sanz and lawyer Arturo Baldasano, trailed well behind in the poll.

Approximately 42 per cent of the 66,355 club members who were entitled to vote attended Sunday's poll in person.

But the spokesman said that Calderon would not be declared the new president until they had consulted legal advisers over the decision.

EMBARRASSMENT ''This is ridiculous and an embarrassment to the club,'' said Calderon after hearing the statement.

A judge provisionally suspended the postal vote on Friday after Calderon and other candidates raised concerns over the lack of guarantees to ensure its legitimacy.

It is not yet clear if the judge will allow the estimated 7,000 votes that had already been cast to be counted. If they are, they could change the result of the election.

Calderon has said that he will appoint former player Predrag Mijatovic, the Serbia&Montenegro striker who scored the winner in the 1998 Champions League final, as sporting director and has spoken of bringing Fabio Capello back as coach.

He has also pledged to bring Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Chelsea winger Arjen Robben to the club and has said he is trying to close a deal to sign AC Milan's Brazil midfielder Kaka.

Rival candidates have accused Calderon of making pledges that he will be unable to honour.

Asked if he would resign if he did not deliver on his promises, Calderon replied: ''No, I will not resign and Kaka will be coming to Real Madrid.'' Calderon joined the board at the invitation of president Florentino Perez in January 2002 and remained there when the construction magnate resigned in April this year.

Perez threw in the towel after his six-year experiment in putting together an all-conquering ''galactico'' superteam collapsed around him as the club headed for a third successive season without a major trophy, their worst run in over 50 years.

The climax to a bitter election campaign is indicative of the chaos into which Real have descended in recent months and the arguments over the postal vote could end up paralysing a club which is still without a coach for next season.

REUTERS PM KN0910