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Schools and association premises around the Mediterranean have been turned into voting centers ahead of the two-day elections, which began on Sunday and will last until Monday.
Much is at stake in the elections, where the Italian right seems poised to gain ground.
The election is also a litmus test for Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s center-left coalition, which in the spring pushed for a dramatic shutdown of the country that had major economic consequences.
Italians vote next the days in two elections – part local elections and part national referendum.
The referendum concerns a proposal to reduce the number of members of both houses of Parliament, from 630 to 400 in the lower house and from 315 to 200 in the upper house, a proposal that appears to pass.
In local elections, the Tuscany region is a focal point.
The region has a long tradition of left-wing rule, but now it seems that it will be conquered by the right-wing populist Lega party of former Interior Minister Matteo Salvini. Losing the region would be a major setback for the ruling coalition made up of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement party and the Social Democratic Party.
Other regions at stake are Campania, Liguria, Marche, Puglia, Tuscany, Aosta Valley and Veneto. The right-wing coalition between Salvini’s Lega, Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and Giorgia Melonis’s Italian brothers looks set to win in Veneto and Liguria, but the Marches and Apulia may also be within reach.
That the choice will be Despite the ongoing pandemic, it is still controversial.
“The country is in a state of emergency, it is extremely contradictory to gather people in polling stations, especially given the current trend in Europe,” said professor of epidemiology Massimo Galli at Sacco Hospital in Milan.
Some steps have been taken to reduce the possible spread of the infection. At-risk groups such as the elderly and pregnant women should be prioritized so as not to be exposed to unnecessary risks.
However, voters are urged to remove their mouth guards inside the voting station to identify themselves, which has caused many poll workers to leave at the last minute. In the city of Milan, more than 100 poll workers are missing as a result.
