Not just European elections, in Italy also the municipal and regional elections in Piedmont: where to vote
In total there will be around 3700 municipalities involved. Polling stations will be open on Saturday from 3pm to 11pm and on Sunday from 7am to 11pm
ROME – On Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June, Italian citizens will be called to vote to elect the 76 deputies of the European Parliament. In some municipalities, voters will also receive the ballot paper for the municipal elections and in Piedmont, the one for the regional elections. In total there will be around 3700 municipalities involved and six regional capitals (Bari, Cagliari, Campobasso, Florence, Perugia and Potenza).
WHEN YOU VOTE
In line with the European elections, polling stations will be open on Saturday from 3pm to 11pm and on Sunday from 7am to 11pm. Adult citizens with an electoral card and identification document will vote. The possible run-off for the direct election of the mayors of the municipalities will take place on Sunday 23 and Monday 24 June 2024.
NORTH
LOMBARDY, LARGE FIELD ONLY IN PAVIA. 3-WAY RACE IN BERGAMO AND CREMONA
The local elections that will be staged in Lombardy this end week will involve 64% of the municipalities in the region (961 out of 1,502), and for the vast majority of the administrations involved belong to centers with a population of less than 15,000 inhabitants (approximately 96%). Just under 40 (37, to be exact), the municipalities with more than 15,000 inhabitants voting, with the possibility of a double shift (based on the 2021 Census, Agrate Brianza, Casalpusterlengo and Agrate Brianza enter the latter together for the first time Concesio, while Casalmaggiore, in the Cremona area, has fallen below the threshold of 15,000 citizens and ‘recedes’ to the former). Three provincial capitals are up for council renewal: Bergamo, Cremona and Pavia, while Uggiate con Ronago, a small village in the Como area, will make its absolute debut at the polls, being one of the new municipalities born in 2024 from the fusion of eight others. Both Bergamo and Cremona, administrations both returning from a double centre-left mandate, will necessarily have to change the face of their mayor. At Palazzo Frizzoni the legacy of Giorgio Gori was taken up by the deputy and former Orobic councilor in the Democratic Party Elena Carnevali, supported by the Gori civic list and the Patto per Bergamo civic list, as well as by +Europa, Psi, Europa Verde, the group civico Oltre, Sinistra Italiana and APF civic list, who will have to contend with the mayoral candidate chosen by Lega, Forza Italia and Fratelli d’Italia Andrea Pezzotta, defined as a “civic and moderate profile”. However, the agreement between the center-left and the M5S has faded away and will run alone with its own candidate, the teacher Vittorio Apicella.
< p>The scenario is similar in Cremona, where the outgoing dem mayor Davide Galimberti gives way to his deputy, Andrea Virgilio, who receives the ‘reformist’ support of IV and Action and who will have to compete with the centre-right neighbor Alessandro Portesani, also ‘he, like Pezzotta, ‘fished’ from the civic world, and supported by the entire centre-right (FdI, Forza Italia, Lega, Udc) to which is added his own civic list, called ‘News in Cremona’. Here too the Movement is running alone, or rather in tandem with the environmentalist movement ‘Cremona Cambia Musica’, and will propose the environmental activist Paola Tacchini as a candidate. In the background, the center candidate Ferruccio Giovetti. Therefore, if both in Bergamo and Cremona there will be electoral returns ‘dictated’ by the expiry of the double mandate of the outgoing mayor, in Pavia the renewal will be total (both on the right and on the left) but not due to administrative constraints. In fact, in the last 20 years Palazzo Mezzabarba has never seen a mayor ‘repeat’ the mandate, and this will not happen to the Northern League member Fabrizio Fracassi either. In his place, trying to confirm the centre-right city administration, will be Alessandro Cantoni, former education councilor of the Fracassi council and current regional councilor at Palazzo Pirelli in the ranks of Lombardia Ideale. The opponent is the current Pavia secretary of the Democratic Party, Michele Lissia, who unlike the center-left candidates of the other two capitals will be able to count on the support of the M5S, member with the Democratic Party of a heterogeneous alliance composed of the Greens-Italian Left, Action , Italia viva, +Europa, and Gruppo Misto-Faldini.EMILIA ROMAGNA, SEVEN CIVICIANS CHALLENGE IN REGGIO EMILIA
For the first time in the history ofReggio Emiliathe challenge of the June administrative elections it will all be between civics. Seven candidates in particular are competing for the mayor’s seat, starting with Marco Massari, chosen by the centre-left coalition led by the PD, who however presents himself as independent as he is not a member of any party. Massari, 64 years old, doctor at the head of the infectious diseases department of the Reggio Emilia hospital and “face” of public health during Covid, is the first “non-party” man to take the field for the Reggio Emilia left since 1945. His main opponent is considered Giovanni Tarquini, 57 years old, lawyer vice-president of the Reggio Emilia Order, supported by Lega, Forza Italia, Fratelli d’Italia and Noi Moderati. However, the first to formalize his candidacy for mayor was Fabrizio Aguzzoli, a 65-year-old retired surgeon, who in 2019 was elected city councilor (with 537 preferences) on the lists of the 5 Star Movement. He broke away from the Five Star Movement in 2021 in disagreement with the Movement’s decision to join the Draghi Government and, also in that year, he founded the Civic Coalition list together with former PD exponent Dario De Lucia. Then there is Paola Soragni, one of the two women running for the position of mayor. A 53-year-old lawyer, Soragni is a councilor of the M5s in the Tricolore hall, where she served two terms. In recent weeks, however, she left the territorial group of the five stars (but not the national movement) in disagreement with the choice of the regional and provincial leaders of the 5 stars to side with the Reggio Emilia PD in the upcoming electoral round. Soragni will therefore be a candidate with the “Movimento Reggio Emilia” civic list. Gianni Tasselli, historic exponent of the Communist Rifondazione, instead created the “Reagire” list to run for mayor. The Civic Alliance has also chosen to run alone: the candidate is Giuliana Reggio, mother of a girl who was the victim of femicide. Finally, the “Bread, Peace and Work” list is in the running, featuring the citizen of Uruguayan origin Hasbi Vladimir Sabillon.
Among the 31 municipalities in the province of Reggio called to renew municipal governments and councils there is alsoBibbiano, known for the affair of the alleged illicit foster care of minors (the trial in which the outgoing mayor was accused after two mandates Andrea Carletti is still in progress and his defender is Giovanni Tarquini). In the town of Val d’Enza the clash is between Stefano Marazzi, 50 years old, surveyor and secretary of the local Democratic Party since January 2015 and the Fratelli d’Italia militant Alberto Bizzocchi. To run for mayor, the latter resigned from his position as municipal councilor in Vetto (in the Apennines). A sign of the importance that the municipality of Val d’Enza has for Giorgia Meloni’s party, who in 2009 showed up in person to demonstrate in front of the town hall over the alleged cases of children ‘ripped’ from their families by social services.
Electoral lights also turned on inModena. In the city of Ghirlandina the centre-left wants to confirm a tradition of government that has lasted without pause since 1945. The candidate Massimo Mezzetti, a Roman who moved to the city before the fall of the Berlin Wall, tries: after a life characterized by Fgci-Pci-Pds-Ds , with an offshoot as regional councilor for Culture in Stefano Bonaccini’s first mandate in the Region, the 62-year-old Mezzetti has frozen his position as general director of Biografilm Festival (active from 2021): he has put himself on leave and will return to direct it only if he loses the elections. M5s, Action, Left, Greens and company, meanwhile, have gradually come together and are included in the coalition of the former leader of Sel Emilia-Romagna. In the center-right home, Fdi territorial coordinator Luca Negrini, candidate for mayor after the green light received from Rome at the beginning of March, is sure to beat Mezzetti and his coalition. As for the other candidates for mayor in Modena, Prof Maria Grazia Modena is also running, with her “Modena x Modena” list, the former head physician Daniele Giovanardi, who leads “Modena Cambia” with the local sovereignists, Claudio Tonelli, supported by the Modena Volta Pagina-Unione Popolare e Possibile list, Chiara Costetti, with the ‘RespiriaMo Aria Pulita’ list, and Marco Meschiari (“3V Truth and Freedom”).
A Ferrara is a four-way race. The spotlight is on the challenge between the outgoing mayor Alan Fabbri, a member of the League seeking a second mandate, and Fabio Anselmo, with whom the centre-left is trying to reconquer the city of Este after five years of centre-right administration. However, there are also two other candidates in the running: Anna Zonari and Daniele Botti. Fabbri can count on the support of six lists: Alan Fabbri mayor, Lega, Fratelli d’Italia, Forza Italia, Ferrara al Centro and Udc per Ferrara. Anselmo, a lawyer known for having dealt with the Cucchi and Aldrovandi cases, is instead supported by a ‘broad field’ made up of the Democratic Party, the 5 Star Movement, the Anselmo Mayor’s List, the Action-Pri Pact for Ferrara, the civics with Anselmo and the United Left for Anselmo. A wide field, but not a very wide one, for the aspiring centre-left mayor: some alternative parties to the centre-right support the other two candidates in the race, namely Zonari (supported by the lists La Comune di Ferrara and +Ferrara in Europa-Psi) and Daniele Botti, with the Ferrara Futura list supported by Italia Viva.
There are four, also in Cesena the candidates competing for the mayor’s seat. This is Enzo Lattuca, the outgoing mayor who leads a center-left coalition with the Pd, Cesena 2024, Patto per Cesena, Civica Popolare, Fondamenta, Avs and also M5s. On the other side of the barricade, Marco Casali, who with the center-right is trying to conquer the city, as happened in nearby Forlì the last time. In this case the mayoral candidate is supported by Fratelli d’Italia, Lega, Forza Italia, Insieme. Marco Giangrandi, third in the running, is leading a coalition that includes Cambiamo, Italia Viva and the Cesena Siamo Noi civic list. Finally Paolo Sensini, who is running with ‘For Peace and the Common Good, Cesena alive and united’, a list born ‘in the wake’ of the No Fear Days born during the pandemic in Cesena. What is new in this electoral round is that Cesena is now officially the capital (after the decree of 29 January), which means a higher number of elected councilors: it will go from the current 24 to 32 seats in the City Council.
There are 20 municipalities called to vote in the province of Forlì-Cesena for the renewal of the councils. And among these, the challenge of Forlì stands out with four aspirants to the mayor’s seat: for the centre-right the outgoing mayor Gian Luca Zattini, for the centre-left Graziano Rinaldini, for the Italian Communist Party Vito Botticella and for the civic list let’s count Maria Ileana Acqua. Zattini is aiming for reconfirmation already in the first round, after having interrupted the hegemony of the centre-left which had continued since the post-war period five years ago. In addition to the three pillars Fratelli d’Italia, Lega and Forza Italia, he can count in his coalition on the support of the Popolo della Famiglia and of the ‘Civica-Forlì changes’ list. Zattini, born in 1955, could boast 20 years as mayor in the event of triumph at the polls, with first the two mandates in Meldola in the province and then the two in the capital. The most accredited opponent is Rinaldini with the wide center-left field, but lame in the Calenda-Renzi duo. It is therefore supported by the Democratic Party, the 5 Star Movement, the Green and Left Alliance and the Rinnoviamo Forlì civic list. Born in 1957, former CGIL trade unionist and cooperator, in particular as president of Formula Servizi, Rinaldini is also aiming for success in the first round. The PCI is running alone, having chosen Botticella as its candidate, a 48-year-old from Foggia but resident in the city for over 20 years. And the Contiamoci association does the same, born in 2021 following the law on the mandatory vaccination for Covid for freedom of choice, with the ‘in pink’ leadership of Acqua ‘sponsored’ by the former regional councilor of the League Matteo Montevecchi. Precisely the votes drained from these two lists to the leading candidates could lead to a run-off and even be decisive in the second round.
< h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-centro">CENTRETUSCANY: FUNARO-SCHMIDT CLASH IN FLORENCE, WITH THE UNKNOWN RENZI
At the twilight of the Nardella era and, before that, after 15 years of city government considering the Renzi years (and the advent of Renziism), a different game is being played in Florence than in the past. Certainly less certain. For the centre-right’s choice to really gamble, fielding a candidate with a prestigious pedigree such as the former director of the Uffizi, Eike Schmidt, in this political hub. But above all because the centre-left finds itself split into three at the halfway point: there is the coalition led by the Democratic Party and Sara Funaro, and there are the solitary races of Stefania Saccardi, for Italia Viva, and Cecilia Del Re, former dem and leader of democratic Florence. Outside the wide field, Dmitrij Palagi, who as an outgoing city councilor leads the ‘troop’ of the radical left, also knocks on the door. To put it in Schmidt’s own words, Saturday and Sunday’s match seems like “just the first leg”. A first round with a view to the run-off, as all the polls described before the spread of the revelations was eclipsed. Funaro starts with the odds because in these latitudes, in one of the most robust granaries of consensus, the Democratic Party has never lost. And yet there are those who make the joke: “Favorite? Yes, but don’t believe it.” This time, in fact, the Schmidt-led centre-right is closer and more eager for the undertaking. And because if there is a run-off, the game of appearances could be triggered (or not). A thrilling scenario, even if Funaro would start from pole. So in a sort of spin between past and future, Renzi’s prediction makes its way: with Saccardi “we will be the referees of the challenge”.
In addition to Funaro, Schmidt, Saccardi, Del Re and Palagi, Lorenzo Masi is also in contention, lined up by Giuseppe Conte – who in the end in Florence chose the solo race without Pd- as champion of the 5 Star Movement. Five other civic lists are also on track: Francesca Marrazza (Ribella Firenze), Lorenzo Masi (Cinque Stelle), Alessandro De Giuli (Firenze Rinasce), Francesco Zini (Firenze Cambia) and Andrea Asciuti (Firenze Vera). In Prato the challenge is not with ten players as in Florence, but with six players. As in the Tuscan capital, however, the dynamics are the same: after ten years of government by the outgoing mayor, Matteo Biffoni (still beloved), the city is grappling with another turning point in Tuscany. The game is played by the regional councilor Ilaria Bugetti, candidate of the Democratic Party, the centre-left and the Five Star Movement, and Gianni Cenni, standard-bearer of the centre-right (in FDI share) and former councilor for urban planning of the council led by Roberto Cenni. The challenge is all here, for a match that could be decided already in the first round.
In addition to the main competitors, vying for the tricolor band are Paola Battaglieri, candidate with the Alternative list for Beni Comuni and Rifondazione; Fulvio Castellani, aligned with the Prato left and the Italian Communist Party; the lawyer Mario Daneri, standard bearer of the Prato Merita civic list which brings together the centrists, including Italia Viva; the 38-year-old entrepreneur Jonathan Targetti, at the head of another civic organization: Targettopoli.
In Pesaro, after the leave of the outgoing Democratic mayor Matteo Ricci, who completed two mandates and brought his city to the throne of Capital of Culture 2024, there are four the candidates to succeed him. The former councilor and regional councilor Andrea Biancani runs for the center left supported by seven lists: Pd, 5 Star Movement, Green-Left Alliance, Biancani mayor civic list. The extra gear for Pesaro, Civic List il Faro, A city in the Municipality with Enzo Belloni, Biancani mayor, Forza Pesaro, with Mila Della Dora, Biancani mayor. Challenging him for the centre-right (six lists: Pesaro Svolta, Marco Lanzi mayor, Pesarò. Giovani per Marco Lanzi, Fratelli d’Italia, Lega, Forza Italia Udc Noi Moderati and Civici Marche) is Marco Lanzi, former deputy commissioner of the State Police, former head of the provincial Scientific Police cabinet and Siulp provincial secretary now retired. For the civic list Come on, here is the only woman in the field, Pia Perricci who is a lawyer and law teacher. And a tourism entrepreneur Fabrizio Oliva with the ‘Free Spaces’ list.
LAZIO, CENTER-RIGHT SPLIT IN CIVITA VECCHIA
Centre-right and center-left split in the two most important municipalities in Lazio where the first round will take place on Saturday (from 3pm to 11pm) and Sunday (from 7am to 11pm) of the vote to elect the mayor and city council (together with representatives for the European Parliament). In total, 142 municipalities out of 378 will go to the polls (just 7 above 15 thousand inhabitants). In Civitavecchia, which sees the outgoing centre-right administration led by the Northern League mayor Ernesto Tedesco, Forza Italia and Noi Moderati, together with the civic lists Uniti per Civitavecchia and Leali Legali Liberi, support the former general of the Guardia di Finanza Paolo Poletti, while Fratelli of Italy and the League (together with three other civic bodies) support the candidacy of the outgoing deputy mayor, Massimiliano Grasso, as mayor. On the other hand, no wide field in the center-left. The 5 Star Movement (plus two civic ones) goes alone with its candidate Enzo D’Antò (also the first of those not elected in the Lazio Regional Council), while the Pd, Alleanza Verdi Sinistra and Lista Unione Civica are aiming for the dem Marco Piendibene as first citizen (outgoing group leader in the City Council).
The situation in the progressive area of Tivoli is even more fragmented , where Giovanna Marconi (50-year-old lawyer) is the candidate of the Pd and the civic “With Giovanna Marconi Sindaca” and Francesca Chimenti (48-year-old teacher and opposition municipal councilor since 2019) that of the 5 Star Movement, Alleanza Verdi Sinistra, La Voce of Tivoli Terme-Chimenti Mayor and A New History-Chimenti. The four centre-right forces, however, are all united behind Marco Innocenzi (55 years old, entrepreneur and spokesperson of FdI in Tivoli), also supported by Christian Democracy, Republican Party-Popular Participation and 3 civic lists. No split on the two fronts in Monterotondo. The outgoing mayor (centre-left) Riccardo Varone aims to reconfirm the strong support of Pd, Avs, Italia Viva, Azione, +Europa, Demos and two Civic lists. The center-right is all in support of Simone Di Ventura together with 4 civic lists. Angelo Capobianco is instead the candidate of the M5S.
Leaving the province of Rome, in Tarquinia, in province of Viterbo, there is the only example of an alliance between the 5 Star Movement and the centre-left. Here the Grillini give their support to the candidacy for mayor of the agronomist Francesco Sposetti, in alliance with the Pd, Avs and a civic list, to prevent the re-election of the outgoing Alessandro Giulivi, who will be able to count on the votes of FdI, Forza Italia, Udc , Renaissance and a civic list. Also running (with the Tarquinia Libera list) for the seat of mayor is Gianni Moscherini, former mayor of Civitavecchia, twice candidate (defeated) for mayor of Tarquinia and current municipal councilor of Cerveteri. From the north to the south of Lazio, in Cassino the centre-left mayor Enzo Salera is seeking an encore with the support of the Pd, Demos and three civic lists. Fdi, Lega and Fi, together with two civic lists, instead support the lawyer Arturo Buongiovanni. Also in the party are Giuseppe Sebastianelli (Rivoluzione The counting of the ballots will begin on June 10th from 2pm. The possible run-off round will take place on June 23rd and 24th.
SOUTH
168 TO THE VOTE IN CAMPANIA, LIGHTHOUSE ON AVELLINO AND BIG CITIES
Of the Italian municipalities called to vote polls next 8 and 9 June, simultaneously with the 2024 European elections, 168 are in Campania. Avellino is the only capital to vote, where people return to the polls after the media outcry due to the arrest of mayor Gianluca Festa. Despite the judicial storm that hit the Municipality, the outgoing administration tries to move in continuity and among the candidates is Festa’s deputy, Laura Nargi, supported by Really Avellino, We are Avellino, W la Libertà. Contending for the tricolor band, for the centre-left there is Antonio Gengaro, of Pd, M5s, App – Avellino Progetto Partecipato – +Europa e Controvento – Alleanza Verdi-Sinistra – Si posto, and for the centre-right Rino Genovese, with Patto civico Avellino , Forza Avellino, Citizens on the Move, Moderates and Reformists, La Rondine, while Fratelli d’Italia runs alone in support of Modestino Iandoli. Among the candidates also Aldo D’Andrea (Popular Unity), Vittorio Boccieri (Paf-Progetto Avellino Futura) and Gennaro Romei (Unione di Centro).
The most populous municipalities, just over 10% of those voting in Campania , are all located in the metropolitan area of Naples: Casoria, 70 thousand inhabitants, Castellammare di Stabia, 62 thousand, and Torre Annunziata, 40 thousand residents. In Casoria a platoon of lists supports the re-nomination of the outgoing Raffaele Bene. There are seven symbols: Pd, 5 Star Movement, Free Campania, Dream and Freedom, Casoria Risvegliati, Casoria towards the future and the Greens-Left Alliance. The three challengers are supported by a single party: Fratelli d’Italia with Nicola Mangani, Azione with Fabio Cristarelli and Centre-right Casoria with Ernesto Vigilante. In Castellammare di Stabia, a municipality dissolved due to Camorra infiltration, there are 24 lists supporting just two candidates. The classic centre-right versus centre-left scheme is upset by the choices of Italia Viva and Action, the former siding with the government parties, the latter with those of the opposition. There are 14 symbols that appear in the electoral posters under the name of Luigi Vicinanza, including those of Pd, M5s, Azione, Per, Avs and others. Ten those alongside Mario D’Apuzzo, including FdI, Forza Italia, Iv, and others.
The same happens in Torre Annunziata (also in this case the Municipality was dissolved due to infiltrations), where the wide field instead disappears. Carmine Alfano has eight lists from his list, including Forza Italia, FdI and Iv, the same number as Corrado Cuccurullo, with, among others, Pd, +Europa, Azione, Per. The M5s nominates Maria Antonietta Zeppetella De Sesto; Oplonti Futura Lucio D’Avino. Among the most significant entities voting in the various provinces are Aversa, Bacoli, Capaccio, Castel Volturno, Nocera Superiore, Sarno, Sant’Antimo and San Giuseppe Vesuviano. Also in the city are two administrations of the blue island, where the municipal councils of Capri and Anacapri will be renewed. There are 18 municipalities in Campania with more than 15 thousand inhabitants where the second round could be used. Finally, it is worth mentioning the municipality with the fewest voters: Sant’Arcangelo Trimonte, in Sannio, where there are just 476.
62 VOTING IN PUGLIA, URNS ALSO OPEN IN BARI AND LECCE
In Puglia there are 62 Municipalities interested in the administrative elections of 8 and 9 June, of which 12 with a population exceeding 15 thousand inhabitants, in which voting will take place with the double-round majority electoral system. Bari and Lecce are the two provincial capitals waiting to know the name of the new mayor.
In the Apulian capital, the regional councilor of the League Fabio Romito (Fratelli d’Italia, Forza Italia, Prima l’Italia-Unione di Centro, We Moderates, Liberals and Reformists and five other lists) challenges Vito Leccese, former head of cabinet of the Municipality of Bari (Democratic Party, Green Europe, Decaro for Bari, We People and three other symbols), and the lawyer Michele Laforgia (Movimento 5 Stars, Italian Communist Party, +Europa – Psi and three civic ones). Also running for the tricolor stripe of Bari are Nicola Sciacovelli (two lists, including Italexit) and Sabino Mangano (Oltre-Movimentici civici associati).
Four candidates in the Salento capital. The race for the office of mayor is entirely between Adriana Poli Bortone, already the first citizen of Lecce between the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s, who convinced the ‘triad’ of the centre-right and seven other parties, and the outgoing Carlo Maria Salvemini, supported by Pd, M5s, Alleanza Verdi-Lenistra, +Europa, IV, Azione and five other symbols. Finally, Agostino Ciucci, of Rights and Civilizations for Lecce, and Alberto Siculella, of Aria and Mind-Menti Indipendenti.
In the province of Lecce there are 29 municipalities affected by the administrative elections, including that of Copertino (21 thousand voters). Sixteen in the province of Foggia, with Manfredonia, San Giovanni Rotondo, San Severo and Torremaggiore, with a population of over fifteen thousand inhabitants. Among the nine municipalities involved in the province of Bari, in five (Gioia del Colle, Putignano, Rutigliano and Santeramo in Colle) a run-off round could be decisive, also possible in Mesagne, in the province of Brindisi, where a total of three are entities to vote. Finally, four in the province of Taranto and one in that of Barletta-Andria-Trani, all with a population of less than 15 thousand inhabitants.
52 TO VOTE IN BASILICATA, EYES FOCUSED ON POTENZA
Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June in 52 Municipalities of Basilicata we also vote in local elections. Only one institution has a population greater than 15 thousand inhabitants, where the double shift system is in force. It is the regional capital, the city of Potenza. The former vice-president of Basilicata Francesco Fanelli has united the centre-right, and convinced, overall, seven sides (We Moderates, FdI, Lega, Amiamo Potenza, Potenza civica, Forza Italia, Orgoglio Lucano). A unity that cost the outgoing mayor Mario Guarente dearly, also a member of the Northern League, forced to give up an encore. However, there is no peace among the opposing sides. Not only did the Pd and M5s fail to reach an agreement, but among the symbols supporting Vincenzo Telesca, the name indicated by the dems, that of the Democratic Party is precisely missing, due to an evidently irreparable internal rift. Telesca is supported by five lists, while Pierluigi Smaldone, of the 5 Star Movement, by three. Maria Grazia Marino (Forza del Popolo) and Francesco Carmine Giuzio (La Basilicata Possible) also aspire to the tricolor sash. Overall, the province of Potenza has 42 voting municipalities; that of Matera 10. Right in the Matera area is Scanzano Jonico, a municipality governed by a prefectural commissioner after the no-confidence vote received by the young former Northern League mayor Pasquale Cariello just seven months before the May 2023 vote. Cariello will try again in 2024, with the Noi’s support for Scanzano. Challenging him is Nicola Mangialardi from Scanzano in the centre.
56 TO VOTE IN MOLISE, ALSO CAMPOBASSO AND TERMOLI
There are 56 (41% of the total) municipalities in Molise where local elections will take place on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 June. Also voting is the regional capital, Campobasso, as well as Termoli, which has a population of more than 15 thousand inhabitants and where a run-off is possible on 23 and 24 June.
There are three aspiring mayors of the largest city in Molise , which in 2019 saw the election as mayor of the five-star Roberto Gravina, now a regional councilor. Aldo De Benedittis can count on the government parties and lines up six lists (Brothers of Italy, Popular for Italy, League, Center Union, Noi Moderates, Forza Italia). Marialuisa Forte has instead compacted the wide field and runs with three symbols (5 Star Movement, Green-Left Alliance, Democratic Party), the same number as Pino Ruta (Single land, Civic Confederation for Campobasso, Building democracy). There are six mayoral candidates in Termoli, where the position, before the 2023 regional elections, was held by the current president of the council Francesco Roberti. They are Nicola Antonio Balice (Popular for Italy, Forza Italia, Brothers of Italy, Rights and Freedoms Molise, Lega, Termoli Insieme), Manuela Vigilante (Pd and Movimento 5 Stelle), Giuseppe Mileti (Voglia di Termoli, Democracy and solidarity, Young people for Termoli), Daniela Decaro (Termoli Libera), Marcella Stumpo (Termoli common good) and Andrea Montesanto (Building democracy).
37 TO THE VOTE IN SICILY, A NEW MAYOR OF CALTANISSETTA IS ALSO ELECTED
On the same days in which Italians vote for the renewal of the European Parliament (Saturday 8th, from 3pm to 11pm, and Sunday 9th June, from 7am to 11pm), 37 Sicilian municipalities are called to renew their administrative bodies. In eight cities the proportional system is in force, while in the remaining 29 the seat allocation system is majority. Caltanissetta is the only capital involved in the local elections. There are five candidates who aspire to the tricolor band. Among these the outgoing Roberto Gambino, supported by Movimento 5 Stelle, Gambino mayor and Libertà, who follows the name of the symbol chosen by Cateno De Luca and South calls North for the European elections. There are seven sides for Walter Calogero Tesauro (We moderates, Resume the path, Lega-Unione di centro, Fratelli d’Italia, Forza Italia, Azzurri per Caltanissetta and Dc), as many for Annalisa Maria Petitto (CL Tutta la vita, Orgoglio Nisseno, Future and democratic Caltanissetta, Together, Making the centre, Now and Forward Caltanissetta). Finally, Angelo Failla runs for Nuova Italia and Ignazio Antonio Riggi for Forza del Popolo. For the province of Palermo the following are affected: Bagheria, Bompietro, Borgetto, Cinisi, Corleone, Monreale, Palazzo Adriano, Roccamena, San Mauro Castelverde. For that of Agrigento: Alessandria della Rocca, Caltabellotta, Campobello di Licata, Naro, Racalmuto, Sant’Elisabetta. For the Nisseno area: Caltanissetta, Gela and Sommatino. For the province of Catania: Aci Castello, Motta Sant’Anastasia, Ragalna, Zafferana Etnea. For Messina: Brolo, Condrò, Falcone, Forza D’Agrò, Leni, Longi, Mandanici, Oliveri, Rometta, Spadafora. For Syracuse the only municipality of Pachino.
For the province of Trapani the municipalities of: Castelvetrano, Mazara del Vallo, Salaparuta and Salemi. No municipalities voting in the provinces of Enna and Ragusa.
132 TO VOTE IN CALABRIA, ALSO CHALLENGES VIBO VALENTIA
The local elections scheduled for 8 and 9 June, coinciding with the European elections, involve 132 municipalities in Calabria , and not 135 as initially expected. There are three locations, in fact, where no list was presented. Since there are no candidates for the office of mayor, therefore, everything is postponed to the next electoral round. The municipalities in question are that of Melissa, 3,200 inhabitants in the Crotone area, where anti-mafia access was arranged in November last year, of San Lorenzo, two thousand residents in the Reggino area, governed by a prefectural commissioner, and of San Luca, 3,400 inhabitants on Aspromonte, sadly known for an Ndrangheta feud that ended with the Duisburg massacre, where even the outgoing mayor decided to throw in the towel, giving up an encore.
Among the Municipalities voting, four exceed the 15 thousand residents, and a second shift is therefore possible. These are Corigliano-Rossano, Montalto Uffugo, Gioia Tauro, and Vibo Valentia, one of the 29 capital cities called to elect the new mayor. Here, there are four who aspire to the tricolor band. For the centre-right Roberto Serafino Cosentino, supported by the Fratelli d’Italia, Forza Italia, Forza Vibo, Indipendenza!, Oltre and Vibo Unica lists, for the centre-left Vincenzo Francesco Romeo, supported by the Democratic Party, 5 Star Movement, Freely Progressives – Green Alliance -Left and Vibo Project Study Center. There are five lists for the centrist Francesco Muzzopappa, who convinced both Azione and Italia Viva, as well as Insieme al centro – Noi Moderati – Unione di centro, Cuore vibonese una città libero and Identità territoriale. Marcella Murabito of Rifondazione Comunista challenges the three.
ELECTION DAY SARDINIA, CAGLIARI AND SASSARI TO VOTE
Minus two days in Sardinia to the expected “election day” for the administrative elections merged with the European elections. On the island, 27 municipalities are expected to vote on 8 and 9 June, but the political spotlight is naturally focused on Cagliari and Sassari. In the regional capital there are five mayoral candidates, with 20 lists in the field. The centre-right is focusing on Alessandra Zedda, a former Italian player now in the League, while for the ‘wide field’ the standard-bearer is Massimo Zedda of the Progressisti, already mayor for two terms. Outsiders of the competition Giuseppe Farris with his ‘Civica 2024’ list, the former M5s deputy Emanuela Corda, now candidate of Alternativa, and Claudia Ortu of Potere al Popolo with the ‘Cagliari Popolare’ list.
Five candidates in the running also in Sassari, where there are 24 lists. In the Turritan capital the centre-left is aiming for Giuseppe Mascia, provincial secretary of the Democratic Party, while the ‘traditional’ centre-right led by Fdi is nominating the rector of the University Gavino Mariotti. Also in the center-right area is the candidacy of Nicola Lucchi, outgoing municipal councilor, supported by six civic lists, while on the left is the other civic candidate Mariano Brianda, former magistrate. Latest civic candidate Giuseppe Palopoli with his ‘Sassari wake up’ list.
LE REGIONALI IN PIEDMONT
Also on 8 and 9 June, the Piedmontese will be called to vote in the regional elections. There are five vying for the role of president: Alberto Cirio, outgoing president of the Region (who according to polls could be reconfirmed), deputy secretary of Forza Italia supported by the centre-right; Gianna Pentenero of the Democratic Party, former councilor of the Municipality of Turin; Sarah Disabato, running for the 5 Star Movement; the lawyer Alberto Costanzo for Libertà and Francesca Frediani for Piemonte Popolare. In addition to the president, the regional councils will also be renewed: the next elections will take place according to the new rules established by the electoral law approved in 2023. Of the fifty councilors, at least forty (80%) will be elected with the proportional system, while the remaining (10) with the majority system. The winning coalition will also receive the majority prize which will give it 55% of the seats in the Regional Council.