Lazio, regional elections: who is winning

Lazio, regional elections

The polling stations in Lazio for the regional elections closed at 3pm on Monday 13 February. The counting of votes begins: the candidate who obtains the most preferences will automatically become president of the region, as there is no run-off. The challengers are Alessio D'Amato, outgoing health councilor, representing the centre-left and the third pole; for the right Francesco Rocca, current president of the Italian Red Cross; Rai journalist Donatella Bianchi with the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5s). The first exit polls give the right the lead with 48-52% of the preferences, according to the centre-left between 29 and 33% and the M5s trailing between 14 and 18%.

Regional elections in Lazio:

The turnout The candidates The council and the council

The turnout

At the close of the polls, open from 7 to 23 on Sunday 12 February and from 7 to 15 on Monday 13, the turnout was 41.36%, a real drop compared to the last electoral round, when 70.17% of eligible voters went to vote.

Who are the candidates for the regional elections in Lazio The Zingaretti era is over, contending for the presidency will be Alessio D'Amato, councilor for health, Francesco Rocca, president of the Italian Red Cross, and Rai journalist Donatella Bianchi. Here's who supports them

The candidates and the candidate

Alessio D'Amato, former regional health councilor since 2018, is the candidate supported by the Democratic Party (Pd), the Greens and the Italian Left, the Italian Socialist Party, Democracy solidale, Più Europa, Radicali, Volt, Azione and Italia Viva. His candidacy is based on an effectively virtuous management of the pandemic and on an accurate program, bearing all the financial backings with which he intends to implement his proposals, dramatically absent in the programs of his opponents.

Donatella Bianchi , Rai journalist and former president of the WWF , is the candidate of the 5 Star Movement , also supported by the Polo Progressive list of the former Environment Minister Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio and the former Deputy Minister of Economy Stefano fassina. Her candidacy has created a rift in the center-left, underlining the inability of the Pd and M5s to create a coalition to face the right. It presents itself with a full-bodied program that leaves ample space for the environment, but where the numbers with which it intends to implement its proposals are lacking.

Francesco Rocca, president of the Italian Red Cross, is the name chosen by the right to try to compete with an authoritative candidacy like that of D'Amato. This is supported by the Brothers of Italy, the Lega, Forza Italia, We Moderates, the Union of the Center and the Civic List Rocca president. Unlike his opponents, he presented a meager programme, with few proposals and largely rhetorical tones.

The council and the junta

In addition to the president, the new council will also be elected regional . There are 49 seats available, plus two more assigned to the person elected president and the one who finished second, for a total of 51 total seats. Once the electoral process is completed, the winning coalition forms the regional council, composed of the president and aldermen. Both the junta and the council are based in the Lazio Region building, in via Rosa Raimondi Garibaldi in Rome.

[Article being updated]