Italy Presidential Election Enters Fifth Round

As expected, the Italian presidential election will enter the fifth round on Friday (11 am). The more than 1,000 parliamentarians and regional representatives failed to elect a new president for the fourth day in a row on Thursday.

Both the centre-left and centre-right blocs have insufficient votes to allow their own candidate to emerge as the winner. The parties needed each other to break the deadlock, but a deal was no longer expected before the fourth round of voting. As a result, many blank votes were again submitted on Thursday.

Since Thursday, a candidate only needs an absolute majority of the votes to win the election. A two-thirds majority was required in the three previous rounds.

Current President Sergio Mattarella’s term ends in February after seven years. Although he has ruled out a second term, he still got votes in recent days. Among the candidates is Prime Minister Mario Draghi. He is seen as a contender. Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had also applied but withdrew at the last minute.