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.