Municipalities, centre-left wins in the first round in Genoa and Ravenna, ahead in Taranto and Matera
Turnout in the 117 municipalities on the ballot was stable: at 56.29%, compared to 56.32% in the previous round. In Genoa and Ravenna, the candidates of the wide camp Silvia Salis and Alessandro Barattoni won. Ballots in Taranto and Matera
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Four provincial capitals voted in this round of local elections: Genova, Ravenna, Taranto, Matera. In the first two, centre-left candidates won in the first round. The other two will go to the runoff on 8 and 9 June, in conjunction with the referendum on labour and citizenship. The turnout in the 117 municipalities on the ballot was stable at 56.29%, compared to 56.32% in the previous round. Voting also took place in nine municipalities in Sicily (region with special statute)
In Genoa, the centre-left in the first round with Salis
In Genoa the centre-left civic candidate Silvia Salis won the first round with 51.5 per cent while the deputy mayor and councillor for the budget, Pietro Piciocchi (centre-right) stopped at 44 per cent. The Pd is the first party with 29.1 per cent. Staccato Fdi in second place with 12.4 per cent. Genoa has the flavour of a 'rematch' for the centre-left after last October's regional elections when outgoing mayor Marco Bucci beat Andrea Orlando by a few thousand votes, confirming the centre-right's leadership of Liguria.
In Ravenna, centre-left wins first round
.Ravenna remains in the centre-left without the need to go through the ballot: Alessandro Barattoni won with 58.1 per cent, beating Nicola Grandi (Fdi and Forza Italia) by 25.1 per cent. Further behind is Alvaro Ancisi (League) at 6.5 per cent. Here too, the Pd is by far the leading party with 40 per cent, while Fdi follows with 16.8 per cent. Barattoni, 41 years old, secretary of the Ravenna PD since 2017, was supported by a wide-field coalition, which basically traces the one that supported de Pascale at the regional elections. At his side were the lists of Pd, Avs, M5s, the civic list Ama Ravenna, Progetto Ravenna, a rassemblement formed by Iv, Azione, +Europa and Socialists and the list of the Republican Party. In Ravenna, the vote was to choose the mayor who will succeed Michele de Pascale, who prematurely interrupted his mandate to become president of the Emilia-Romagna Region.
At Taranto, Bitetti-Lazzaro runoff
.In Taranto, it will be a runoff between Pietro Bitetti, candidate of the centre-left (without M5s), who collected 36.8 per cent, and the civic candidate (also supported by the League, which is not present with its symbol), Francesco Tacente (26.1 per cent). Nothing to do for Luca Lazzàro, the official candidate of the centre-right (Fdi, Fi and Noi moderati) who stopped at 19.4 per cent. Also out of the runoff was Annagrazia Angolano, candidate of the Five Star Movement and the Angolano sindaca list, at 10.9 per cent.
In Matera ahead of Cifarelli (centre-left)
Ballot also in Matera. Roberto Cifarelli (leading a reformist coalition), in the lead with 43.5%, and the centre-right mayoral candidate Antonio Nicoletti (37%) will face off. Also running in the municipal elections were Domenico Bennardi (M5s), who garnered 8.3%, and Vincenzo Santochirico (Progetto Comune), who stopped at 6.8%. Cifarelli, a Pd regional councillor (party with which he has been elected three times to the Lucanian Assembly), won the 'Open' primaries not recognised by the parties. And the Pd - as already happened at the Potenza municipal elections in spring 2024 - did not present a list with its own symbol. In view of the runoff Bennardi, the outgoing mayor of M5S, has ruled out supporting Cifarelli. "We will not support anyone and we will not make appearances. We will leave it up to our voters,' he said. "The role of the opposition," he added, "is important: we will watch over many things."
