June 5th is the day of the municipal elections in 1.342 Italian cities and the greatest attention is focused, as always, on the large centres. Among others, the voters of Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin and Bologna will go to the polls. Voting is only held on Sunday, from 7 to 23: the ballots will begin immediately afterwards, which must be completed within the next 12 hours.
WHAT TO BRING TO THE POLL
You need to pay attention to electoral card. Anyone who should ask for a new one, for example because there are no more spaces to affix stamps to the polling station, will have to go to the electoral offices, which in the two days before the vote observe the continuous opening hours from 9 to 18, while on the day of the elections they are open from 7 to 23.
At the polling station it is also necessary to present a valid identity document. Cards issued by professional orders are also accepted, provided, of course, with a photo.
HOW TO VOTE
As for how to vote, there are some rules to remember.
Mayor candidates and lists of councilor candidates.
– In municipalities with up to 15 inhabitants, a sign can be drawn only on the mayoral candidate or only on the list connected to the mayoral candidate, or on both. In any case, the vote is attributed both to the list of candidate directors and to the candidate for statutory auditor.
– In municipalities with more than 15 inhabitants, a mark can only be cast on the mayoral candidate (in this case the vote is attributed only to the mayoral candidate), only on one of the lists linked to the mayoral candidate or on both (in the latter two cases, the vote is attributed both to the candidate for mayor and to the list). Separate votes can also be cast, drawing a mark on the mayoral candidate and another on a list not related to him.
Your preferences.
– In Municipalities with fewer than 5 inhabitants, only one preference can be expressed for candidates for the Municipal Council;
– in Municipalities with more than 5 inhabitants two preferences can be expressed for candidates for the Municipal Council, but in this case the gender equality (a man and a woman, or vice versa), under penalty of cancellation of the second preference;
The timetable.
At the stroke of 23pm, anyone in or near the polling station can still vote.
HOW THE BALLOT WORKS
Any run-off between the two candidates who obtained the highest number of votes in the first round will be held on Sunday 19 June, again from 7 to 23. Also in this case the polling stations will remain open for one day only. Municipalities with more than 15 inhabitants go back to the polls if in the first round no candidate obtains 50% of the votes plus one, while for smaller cities the tie-breaker is envisaged only in the remote possibility that two candidates obtain the same number of votes in the first round.
ELECTION NUMBERS
In all, there are 77 candidates (one for every 162 voters) and they are competing for about 22 seats, of which 16 as councilors and 6 as councillors. There are 3.602 candidates for mayoral seats alone and in this case there is no gender equality at all: 2.974 men against 628 women. The lists are close to 5 thousand: 3.867 civic and more than a thousand expression of the parties.
ROME: THERE ARE 13 CANDIDATES FOR THE ELECTIONS, RAGI ON THE POLE BUT UNCERTAIN BALLOTTING
In the municipal elections in Rome, there are 13 candidates for the mayor's seat, while there are 1.469 candidates for councillors. According to the polls, the favorite for the Capitol is, in the first round, Virginia Rages (Movement 5 Stars), while contending for second place in the ballot are Roberto Giachetti (Democratic party), Alfio Marchini (supported by Forza Italia) e Giorgia Meloni (Brothers of Italy). Among others, it is also in contention Stefano Fassina (Italian Left). For the ballot the games are completely open.
MILAN, 9 CANDIDATES: 2 MANAGERS ON POLE AND AN OUTSIDER GRILLINO
Among the 9 candidates in the municipal elections of Milan, the big favorites are two former managers: Giuseppe Sala (Pd - centre-left) and Stefano Parisi (centre-right). Besides them, the most highly rated challenger is Gianluca Corrado, who replaced Patrizia Bedori as the candidate of the Movimento 5 Stelle.
NAPLES: DE MAGISTRIS GOES AHEAD, PD AND CENTER-RIGHT CHASE HIM
In Naples, the names competing for the mayor's seat there are 10, but, according to the polls, the outgoing mayor Luigi De Magistris (Movement Orange) could get more than double the votes of its closest pursuer in the first round. The challengers are Matthew Brambilla (5 Star Movement), Gianni Lettieri (Forza Italia) e Valeria Valente (Democratic party).
TURIN RECORD WITH 17 CANDIDATES
Turin boasts the record for the highest number of mayoral candidates: 17. The mayor seeking a second term, Piero Fassino (Democratic Party), is given head on Chiara Appendino (Movement 5 Stars), but it will probably go to the ballot. Other names in the running include those of Alberto Morano (civic list "Let's work together", supported by Lega Nord and Fratelli d'Italia), Osvaldo Naples (Forza Italia) e George Airaudo (Italian Left).
BOLOGNA COULD AVOID THE BALLOT
All Bologna elections there is a super favorite: it is the outgoing mayor Virginio Merola (Democratic Party), which could succeed in being elected in the first round. In the event of a runoff, the possible challengers of the dem candidate are Lucia Bergonzoni (Lega Nord, also supported by Forza Italia and Fratelli d'Italia) e Massimo Bugani (5 Star Movement). In all, there are eight candidates in the running.
