Italy. File photoROME, Jun 12At 7 a.m. (8.00 Moscow time) on Sunday, the doors of polling stations opened in Italy — millions of citizens are called upon to take part in partial administrative elections, as well as to express their point of view on five issues of justice, which are submitted to popular referendums. This time, almost 9 million Italians will have to re-elect the mayors and members of the communal councils of 978 cities and towns. Among them are 26 provincial centers, including the main cities of four regions of the country — Genoa (Liguria), Aquila (Abruzzo), Palermo (Sicily) and Catanzaro (Calabria). According to the legislation in force in Italy, mayors are elected by direct vote, and in cities with With a population of more than 15,000, a candidate needs 50% of the votes plus one vote to win. If this does not happen, the name of the mayor will be determined in the second round on June 26, when the two candidates who received the best results in the first round will be put to the vote. The last time administrative elections were held in the Apennines in October 2021. Then the attention of political observers was riveted to the struggle for power in the country's four largest cities — Rome, Milan, Naples and Turin. This time the stakes in the political game are not so high, however, the current elections will undoubtedly be an important electoral test for the entire political system of Italy on the eve of the 2023 parliamentary elections. In 18 of the 26 provincial centers, where mayors will be re-elected on Sunday, currently the center-right coalition parties rule. Analysts also note that the current vote will be especially important for the 5 Star Movement and its new leader, former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who faces a difficult decision regarding future political alliances.
Signatures are being collected in Italy for investigating the crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in DonbasSimultaneously with the elections on Sunday, five referendums on justice issues are being held across the country, initiated by the right-wing League party and the Radical Party. Theoretically, 51.5 million people can take part in this vote. According to article 75 of the Italian constitution, referendums will be recognized as valid only if more than half of the citizens who have the right to vote take part in them. However, many local analysts are rather skeptical in this regard. The fact is that some issues of a technical-administrative nature, which are of little concern to the ordinary voter, have been submitted to the nationwide vote. This refers, in particular, to the principles of the formation of the Superior Council of Magistracy, the system of attestation of judges, the specifics of the professional career of judges and prosecutors, and the practice of applying pre-trial detention. In other words, voters are now given the right to speak out on issues that for many years parliamentarians and experts have not been able to resolve as part of the protracted judicial reform. The counting of votes cast in the administrative elections will only start on Monday afternoon.
