Andrea Putzu convicted. A annulment hearing is underway; Democrats: "Clarify whether he is eligible."

Ascoli, August 3, 2025 – A short but heated election campaign , marked by scandals, investigations, complaints, and lawsuits. While the center-left is in suspense awaiting the outcome of investigations opened on various fronts, within the Brothers of Italy party, Putzu's uprising has created numerous difficulties . The regional councilor, elected in 2020, was the subject of a complaint to the Regional Council by Saturnino Di Ruscio, then the first of the non-elected, challenging the validity of his election , in light of a final conviction he received in 2018. He was sentenced to eight months and 20 days, without applying mitigating circumstances, for ideological forgery , which Putzu demonstrated was not recorded in his criminal record.

Yesterday, the FdI councilor, through his lawyer Massimiliano Tarulli, requested rehabilitation from the Ancona Surveillance Court. This is a possibility for those who demonstrate a process of reform and excellent conduct, which effectively nullifies the effects of the conviction. The hearing is scheduled for very soon, as early as next Wednesday, August 6th. It's impossible for the Regional Council to evaluate Di Ruscio's complaint before then, and this is why the Democratic Party assembly group has mobilized, given that, according to the complaint from the former mayor of Fermo, current councilor Andrea Putzu would have been ineligible for the 2020 elections precisely because of his conviction. For this reason, the Democratic members of the Regional Council's Bureau, Micaela Vitri and Maurizio Mangialardi, have requested an urgent meeting with President Dino Latini tomorrow to learn the results of the investigations the offices are conducting to verify the legitimacy of Putzu's election and the potential consequences for the validity of the Regional Council's documents. "Also because, if it were confirmed that Putzu could not run in 2020, he would have voted on documents without being able to do so ," the Democrats wrote. "We believe that President Latini should convene the Bureau as early as tomorrow to ensure the matter is clarified and transparency is restored."

Meanwhile, President Francesco Acquaroli , in his initial statements on the matter, has effectively shielded Putzu's candidacy , not believing there are insurmountable challenges. Mangialardi and Vitri consider these comments "serious and inappropriate. It's certainly not up to him to decide whether his man is eligible or not, given that enforcing current legislation is certainly not his prerogative. And this encroachment on his power not only does him no credit, but once again demonstrates the president and his majority's intolerance for the most basic rules of democracy." This controversy is also gaining traction in Fermo, where Putzu was already the party's official candidate, with posters already circulating, along with city councilor Gianluca Tulli, Rapagnano mayor Elisabetta Ceroni, and Petritoli city councilor Francesca Ascensi. This puzzle will be resolved within the next few days, in an increasingly hurdle-ridden race toward the Regional Government.