MADRID, Jan. 25 (Royals Blue) –
The second round of voting in the Italian Chamber of Deputies to elect the country’s next president ended this Tuesday with a majority of blank votes –527 of the total of 976 validated ballots–, for which a new vote for this Wednesday morning.
The members of the electoral college have thus repeated results similar to those of this Monday, when the first election attempt was held. On this occasion, 38 null votes and another 161 scattered votes have been counted, according to the Italian press.
Among the most repeated names on the ballots, the current president, Sergio Matarella, stands out; the one proposed by the 5 Star Movement (M5E), Paolo Maddalena, or the president of Italia Viva, Ettore Rosato.
Already this Monday, before the first vote, there were several parties that confirmed their intention to vote blank after the lack of agreement on the name of the future tenant of the Quirinal Palace.
The appointment of the new president depends on 1,009 people –321 senators, 630 deputies and 58 regional delegates–. To be elected in any of the first three ballots, the candidate must obtain at least two thirds of the votes (673), while from the fourth the threshold passes to an absolute majority (505).
The resignation of Sergio Mattarella for a second term, in a position that is more symbolic than political but that can mark the future of the country in times of crisis, has opened the range of options without there being a clear candidate. This same weekend, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned from the race in a “gesture of national responsibility” despite assuring that he had the necessary votes.
NEW PROPOSALS
While the vote was taking place, although in view of the lack of agreement, the center-right parties in Italy presented this Tuesday a new list of names to occupy the Presidency.
The leaders of Fuerza Italia, Liga, Hermanos de Italia, Union Center (UDC), Us with Italy (NCI) and Cambiamo! They have decided the candidacies of the former mayor of Milan Letizia Moratti, the former judge Carlo Nordio and the former president of the Senate Marcello Pera to occupy the Quirinal Palace, as announced by the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, at a press conference.
“It’s a triad that we offer for discussion”, explained Salvini, who has expressed his “hope” that “there will be no vetoes” by the rest of the Italian formations, according to ‘Il Corriere della Sera’. “At this point I’m ready to sit down and talk to everyone,” he added.
Representatives of the M5E have met this Tuesday with those of the Democratic Party and with those of Free and Equal (LEU, for its acronym in Italian), after which they have stated that they disagree with the names proposed by the center-right, although they do they have been willing to reach a point of understanding.
Thus, the president of M5E, Giuseppe Conte, has indicated that the center-left formations have decided “not to present a list of three names” in order to try to “accelerate” the dialogue with the center-right.
“In this way, we are accelerating the dialogue with the center-right with the commitment to find a shared solution in the next few hours,” stressed Conte, who has asserted that “this is not the time for a confrontation.” “Italy has no time to waste,” he warned.