Necva Tastan Sevinc
25 May 2026•Update: 25 May 2026
Vote counting continued Monday in Italy’s municipal elections, with early projections showing candidates from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing coalition leading in several key races, while candidates backed by the center-left Democratic Party (PD) appeared on track for victories in others.
Pollings were closed at 3 pm local time (1300GMT) across nearly 750 municipalities and 18 provincial capitals, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency.
Final turnout stood at 60.06%, down nearly 5% from the previous local elections, according to data from the Interior Ministry’s Eligendo platform.
In Venice, candidate Simone Venturini, backed by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy coalition, maintained a strong lead, securing 51.9% in the third Opinio-Rai projection based on 23% of the sample, ahead of rival Andrea Martella of the center-left Democratic Party at 38.4%.
In Reggio Calabria, Francesco Cannizzaro, a center-right Forza Italia candidate, was nearing victory with 69.1% in the third projection, well ahead of acting mayor and candidate of the center-left Domenico Battaglia party, backed by the PD-led coalition, who stood at 21.7%.
Another PD-led coalition-backed candidate, Vincenzo De Luca, was projected to win outright in Salerno with 58% of the vote, according to Opinio-Rai’s third projection.
In Chieti, Giovanni Legnini, backed by the PD and allied lists, led with 48.5%, but projections indicated the race was heading toward a runoff against Cristiano Sicari.
Meanwhile, in Mantua, Andrea Murari of the PD-led coalition appeared set to win in the first round with more than 68% of the vote after roughly half the ballots were counted.
In Crotone, outgoing Mayor Vincenzo Voce, backed by civic and right-wing coalition lists, was also close to re-election, according to unofficial data cited by ANSA.