Ballots, from Agrigento to Arezzo: ballot boxes open in six provincial capitals

In Lecco, the runoff will be between outgoing centre-left mayor Mauro Gattinoni (42.53%) and centre-right candidate Filippo Boscagli, who is ahead with 48.65%. Mauro Fumagalli, candidate of the centrist civic list Orizzonte per Lecco, who came third with 5.2% of the vote, has decided to leave his vote free, as has Patto per il Nord (1.7%).

In Macerata, the runoff took place by a whisker: outgoing mayor Sandro Parcaroli, an expression of the centre-right, finished with 49.96% of the vote, missing victory in the first round by only 10 votes. Parcaroli's appeal, which requested a recount of the 350 ballots declared void before the runoff, was rejected by the Regional Administrative Tribunal. The centre-left challenger Gianluca Tittarelli (41.9%) worked hard on agreements, focusing in particular on the Catholic vote and reaching an agreement with Marco Sigona, the candidate who had obtained 3.5% in the first round with the Officina delle Idee list.

In Trani, after two Pd mandates, Marco Galiano (40.7%), supported in the first round by the Pd, and Angelo Guarriello (30.32%) for the centre-right, are challenging each other. In the centre-left, the loss of a part of the PD (the outgoing president of the city council, Giacomo Marinaro, presented himself with his own coalition, bringing with him a substantial group of city councillors and reaching around 21% of the preferences) weighed heavily. The 5 Star Movement in Trani also chose not to give life to the 'wide field', proposing its own mayoral candidate, Vito Branà, who obtained 3%. In the last two weeks, there have been rumours of appearances, all of which were later denied.

And then there is the case of Vigevano (Pavia) where the centre-left candidate Rossella Buratti (34.3%) is ahead of the civic Paolo Previde Massara (24.4%), supported by FI. No official agreement here either. But the moves of the League and Furio Suvilla, the candidate backed by Roberto Vannacci, who recorded a exploit (14.2%) in the first round, will weigh in. Suvilla urged the people of Vigevano to vote blank or nothing at the ballot: 'We will not support those who call themselves centre-right but then are afraid to take official positions on the most important issues affecting our city. Lega was the big loser in the first round: it stopped at a modest 9.3 per cent, a substantial drop from 27 per cent in 2020. And its candidate Riccardo Ghia, supported by the League, Fratelli d'Italia and Noi Moderati, did not go beyond 21.45 %, being cut out of the ballot. Lega and Noi Moderati chose to leave their voters free to vote. 'Our invitation is to consider the 'lesser evil' for Vigevano,' commented Gian Marco Centinaio, vice-president of the Senate, appointed provincial commissioner of the Carroccio after the defeat in the first round. Fratelli d'Italia, on the other hand, publicly sided with Previde Massara.

On Sunday, 7 June and Monday, 8 June, voting will also take place in Sardinia, where just over 400,000 people are called upon to elect mayors and municipal councils in 148 municipalities in the first round. The most politically relevant challenges are concentrated in the largest centres. In Quartu Sant'Elena, Sardinia's third-largest city, outgoing mayor Graziano Milia is seeking reappointment with a centre-left coalition but without symbols, against centre-right candidate Marco Porcu, and against civic candidate Roberto Matta. The spotlight is also on Sestu and Porto Torres, the two municipalities with over 15,000 inhabitants that could go to the ballot on 21 and 22 June if no candidate exceeds 50% of the votes, along with the two new provincial capitals, Tempio Pausania and Sanluri.