All ready for regional elections in Lombardy. On 12 February and 13 February the citizens of Lombardy will go to the polls to elect the new president of the region and the new regional council. Four candidates are in the running, with outgoing president Attilio Fontana who, according to polls, seems destined to be reappointed.
Ma when and how to vote in the regional elections in Lombardy? When does it start ballot? How do you elect the Regional Council? Here are the answers to the most frequently asked questions.
Lombardy regional elections 2023: when do you vote? When does the poll start?
Le regional elections in Lombardy will be held Sunday February 12, with polling stations open from 7 to 23, e Monday 13 February, from 7 to 15. Lo scrutiny of the results will begin immediately after the polls close. According to forecasts, the name of the president of the Lombardy Region should be known by the evening. For the members of the regional council, on the other hand, it could take a few more hours. We also remind you that voters forced to travel to reach their polling station can take advantage of the electoral discounts on trains made available by Fs.
Lombardy regional elections 2023: what you need to vote
Lombard citizens will have to go to their seat of reference with identification document and electoral card in hand. With regard to the electoral card, in the event of lack of space, theft, loss or non-receipt, it is possible to request a duplicate, after completing a request form. It will also be possible to do so on election day itself. The municipal offices will in fact be open on an extraordinary basis.
Lombardy regional elections 2023: the four presidential candidates
There are four candidates for the presidency of the Lombardy region:
- Attilio Fontana, outgoing president who is running again despite all the controversy over the management of the Covid emergency. He is supported by the center-right coalition formed by Lega, Fratelli d'Italia, Forza Italia, Noi Moderati and by the civic list that bears his name.
- Letizia Moratti: former vice president of the region and former councilor for welfare. She was also Mayor of Milan from 2006 to 2011 and Minister of Education from 2001 to 2006. She For two years, from 1994 to 1996, she was president of Rai. You are supported by the Third Pole (Azione e Italia viva, to which is added the civic list that bears your name).
- Pierfrancesco Majorino: MEP and historic leader of the left wing of the Milanese Democratic Party. He is supported by the centre-left (Democratic Party, the Green-Left alliance and the 5 Star Movement).
- Mara Ghidorzi: supported by Unione Popolare, a radical left-wing movement founded in 2022 by the former mayor of Naples Luigi De Magistris.
Regional council candidates
Among the candidates for the regional council there are some illustrious names. A few examples: the journalist is in the ranks of the coalition that supports Attilio Fontana (centre-right). Vittorio Feltri. His candidacy was pushed by Giorgia Meloni herself. Not surprisingly, he figures as the leaders of the Brothers of Italy. Among the centre-right candidates for the regional council there is also the conductor Alberto Veronesi (FdI), son of the famous oncologist Umberto, e Julius Gallera, former regional councilor for welfare, also strongly criticized during the first wave of the pandemic (he resigned in January 2021), candidate of Forza Italia.
Among the candidates for the regional council for the Third Pole as leader is the former parliamentarian Lisa Noia. Instead, it is in Moratti's civic list Monica Strong, president of the regional anti-mafia commission. Majorino's line-up includes the former director of the Bollate prison Cosima Buccoliero, while in the civic there is the virologist Fabrizio Pregliasco and the founder of the Sentinelli of Milan Luca Paladini. He's also in Majorino's line-up Michael Usuelli, outgoing regional councilor and one of the most important leaders of +Europe at the local level.
Lombardy regional elections: the ballot paper
Lombard voters will receive only one electoral card, green in colour, which will be used to elect the president or the regional council. On the right side there are rectangles with the name and surname of the person running for president. On the left side are the symbols of the lists supporting the candidate for governor.
Lombardy regional elections 2023: how do you vote?
There are four options available to voters:
- An X on the Presidential Candidate Name: in this case the vote will NOT be extended to the list or provincial lists connected to it;
- Two X's: one for the presidential candidate's name and one for the related lists. In doing so the vote will go to both;
- disjoint vote: it is possible to vote for a candidate for the office of president and for a list not connected to him/her;
- An X on the list: the vote will go both to the list and to the presidential candidate linked to it.
It is possible to express up to two preferences writing the names next to the list mark, provided candidates of different sexes. It is not possible to choose two candidates of the same gender from the same list. In that case, the second preference will be canceled.
How to elect the president of the Lombardy region
There is no second round (or ballot) in regional elections if none of the candidates reaches 50 percent. Whoever obtains the majority of votes will be elected president.
How to elect the regional council
The Lombardy regional council is made up of 80 seats: the president is a member by right, the other 79 are elected with a proportional mechanism. Each of the 12 Lombard provinces must have at least one representative on the council. A seat is instead reserved by right to the first loser among the candidates for the presidency.
There is a 55 percent majority premium (44 seats) if the winning coalition gets less than 40 percent of the vote. The prize rises to 60% (48 seats) if the winning coalition gets more than 40%. In no case can the winning coalition have more than 70% of the seats in the council. Finally, there is a threshold of 3% for lists that run on their own.
What the latest polls say about the regional elections in Lombardy
Electoral silence started on January 28th. The latest poll was then published the day before by Corriere della Sera. He accomplished it Ipsos. The findings indicated Attilio Fontana in the lead with 44% of the votes, followed by Pierfrancesco Majorino (33,8%), Letizia Moratti (19%) and Ghidorzi (2,2%).
As for the parties, Brothers of Italy should be confirmed as the first party in Lombardy with 24,9% of votes (it was 28,5% at the national teams in September). In the centre-right coalition, the league follows with 13,4% and Forza Italia with 6,5% (it was 7,9% in September). In total, the center-right could reach 49,5%. In the centre-left the Pd could reach 18,4%, the 5 Star Movement at 8,1%. The lists in support of Majorino would therefore obtain 32,5% of the votes.
It should grow in Lombardy the Third Pole which, together with the Moratti list, could obtain 16,1% of the votes.
Similar percentages also for swg which gives Fontana between 46 and 50% of the votes, Majorino between 32 and 36%, Moratti between 14 and 18%. and Ghidorzi between 1 and 3%.
