Candidates of center-right parties lead in key Italian municipal races as vote counting continues

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.