Polls open in 117 municipalities on Sunday and Monday, 2 million voting for mayors

Even if it does not have the weight of a test on the government majority and the weight of the opposition, the appointment on Sunday and Monday with the administrative elections will be a sort of mini test for the center-right and center-left in view of the autumn regional elections that will be held in Campania, Marche, Puglia, Veneto and Tuscany.

Tomorrow and Monday, nearly two million Italians will be called to vote in the first round of elections . Polls are open in 117 municipalities and vote counting will begin shortly after polls close on Monday.

Nine municipalities under special administration in Sicily will also go to the polls: Palagonia, Castiglione di Sicilia, Montemaggiore Belsito, Prizzi, Favignana, Solarino, Realmonte, Raddusa and Ramacca. Polls will be open on Sunday, from 7:00 to 23:00, and on Monday, from 7:00 to 15:00, for the administrative round with the direct election of the mayor and the renewal of the municipal councils.

The possible run-off round will take place on Sunday 8 and Monday 9 June. Eyes are focused on four provincial capitals voting: Genoa, Ravenna, Taranto and Matera .

Municipal elections, polling station (ANSA)

The vote in Genoa

The most significant challenge is that of the Ligurian capital. The result is not a foregone conclusion. Pietro Piciocchi, supported by the centre-right , and Silvia Salis , who has the entire centre-left behind her, are competing .

In total, there are seven candidates for the office of mayor. The other five candidates are Mattia Crucioli, for United for the Constitution, Raffaella Gualco, candidate for United Genoa, Antonella Marras, candidate for the Alternative Left, Cinzia Ronzitti, candidate for the Communist Workers' Party and Francesco Toscano, candidate for Sovereign and Popular Democracy.

In Genoa, we are going to the polls, compared to the natural deadline of 2027, because the former mayor Marco Bucci left Palazzo Tursi after being elected president of the Region.

The vote in Ravenna

The forecasts are clearer for Ravenna, a city with a progressive tradition, where a very large field presents Alessandro Barattoni , while the centre-right presents itself divided: Fdi is aiming for Nicola Grandi, also supported by Forza Italia, but not by the League, which is instead running with Alvaro Ancisi.

Local elections 2023 (ANSA)

The vote in Matera

In Matera, the center-right is fielding Antonio Nicoletti, while the center-left is running in no particular order: the PD has not presented a list with its own symbol, but one of its members, regional councilor Roberto Cifarelli, is running supported by the centrists. Also running is Vincenzo Santochirico , with a past as councilor and president of the regional council with the PD: initially indicated by a center-left table, he first announced his withdrawal and then backtracked, presenting himself with the "Progetto Comune" list, which aims to fish for votes in the progressive-reformist pool. The M5S is with the outgoing mayor Domenico Bennardi (who was removed in October due to the resignation of 17 out of 32 city councilors).

The vote in Taranto

In Taranto, however, both the center-left and the center-right are fragmented. Pd and Avs with Piero Bitetti, the M5s with Annagrazia Angolano , Fdi, Fi and Noi Moderati with Luca Lazzaro , while the League is looking more carefully at Francesco Tacente . Tacente is supported by the League in particular through the Prima Taranto list. Matteo Salvini and the deputy secretary Roberto Vannacci have expressed themselves in his favor.

Taranto returns to the polls after the early end of the legislature, last February, two years before its natural end, due to the simultaneous resignation of the majority of councilors and the consequent 'fall' of the administration led by Rinaldo Melucci elected in 2022 at the head of a center-left majority.