Josep Maria Bartomeu Leads Joan Laporta in Barcelona Presidential Election Race

Josep Maria Bartomeu enjoys a huge lead in the club's election battle and currently has just under double the amount of validated signatures accumulated by main rival Joan Laporta.

Sport confirmed Bartomeu, the current chief who is standing for re-election, looks in a strong position to maintain his role with the treble-winning club as five presidential candidates drop to four with the elimination of Seguiment FCB's campaign. 

Here's the number of signatures counted for each candidate since last Wednesday:

Candidate	Signatures Submitted	Signatures Validated
Josep Maria Bartomeu	9124	8554
Joan Laporta	4802	4272
Agusti Benedito	3815	3367
Toni Freixa	3289	3068

"The electoral board regrets that one of the pre-candidates (Seguiment FCB) had 16 signatures less than needed to make the cut," noted electoral board president Rafael Herrera, per Sport. "So we counted the ballot three times and on each time it confirmed this situation."

Bartomeu's current tenure began in January 2014 when predecessor Sandro Rosell stepped down over claims he provided misinformation over the money spent on signing Neymar from Santos. Both men are currently being investigated by the Spanish authorities.

Bagu Blanco/Getty Images

However, the club has returned to great sporting success with Bartomeu at the helm. Luis Enrique, who took over the manager's role from Gerardo Martino last summer, led the Blaugrana to trophy wins in La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League during the 2014-15 campaign.

Barca look set to dominate for years to come, not least because they possess the world's most potent attacking three in Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.

Former chief Laporta has once again promised big signings and an emphasis on enforcing Catalan values if he's to be re-elected. Laporta told BBC Sport he "very much" admires Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, saying "we will have to negotiate with the agent and Juve" if he wins the vote. He promised David Beckham to the Camp Nou crowd 12 years ago before signing Ronaldinho instead.

Bartomeu has confirmed he isn't looking to sign Pogba anytime soon: "This year we will not sign Pogba because he is not part of our sporting plans," reported Marca (h/t Adriana Garcia of ESPN FC). He has overseen the purchase of Arda Turan from Atletico Madrid, a player who will join the club once Barca's transfer ban lifts in January 2016.

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Andy West of BBC Sport questions Bartomeu's use of power:

Marca reports Bartomeu has failed to convince Borussia Dortmund attacking star Marco Reus to join the club. Reus' arrival could help swing further votes, but Reus is allegedly unwilling to compete with Barca's aforementioned attacking trio for a space in the team.

The latest signature count suggested Barca aren't destined to go through another summer of major change.

Things have been in flux at the Camp Nou—with Rosell leaving and managers consistently altering since Pep Guardiola's departure two years ago—so it looks as if it could be a quiet summer once the election concludes in 10 days.