Sunday 12 June in more than 900 municipalities mayors and municipal councilors are chosen. For the latter, preferences can be expressed in different ways depending on the number of inhabitants and in centers with more than 5 thousand citizens with the mechanism of double gender preference
From 7 am to 11 pm on Sunday 12 June over 900 Italian municipalities are called to the polls to elect mayors and municipal councilors. As for the latter, citizens can express preferences on the ballot paper. However, the methods vary according to the number of inhabitants and in some cases the mechanism of double gender preference is provided: this is how it works (THE SPECIAL).
Municipalities with up to 15 thousand inhabitants
In municipalities that have up to 15,000 inhabitants, explains the Ministry of the Interior, the election of municipal councilors is carried out with a majority system at the same time as the election of the mayor. Each candidacy for the office of statutory auditor is linked to a list of candidates for the office of municipal councilor, including a number of candidates not exceeding the number of directors to be elected and not less than three quarters. The candidate for the office of statutory auditor is indicated next to the badge. Each elector can vote for a candidate for the office of mayor, by marking the relative mark. He can also express a preferential vote for a candidate for the office of municipal councilor included in the list linked to the candidate for the office of chosen mayor, by writing his surname in the appropriate line printed under the same mark. Each list of candidates for the office of director is understood to be attributed as many votes as the votes obtained by the candidate for the office of statutory auditor connected to it. In the event that only one list has been admitted and voted on, all the candidates included in the list and the candidate for connected statutory auditor are elected, provided that it has obtained a number of valid votes of not less than 50% of the voters and the number of non-voters. was less than 50% of the voters registered on the electoral lists of the municipality. If these percentages are not reached, the election is void.
Municipalities that have more than 15 thousand inhabitants
In municipalities with a population of over 15,000 inhabitants, the mayor is elected by universal and direct suffrage, at the same time as the election of the municipal council. The form for the election of the statutory auditor is the same used for the election of the council and contains the names and surnames of the candidates for the office of statutory auditor, written within a specific rectangle, next to which are the marks of the list or lists with to which the candidate is connected. Each elector can, with a single vote, vote for a candidate for the office of statutory auditor and for one of the lists connected to it, by making a mark on the identification of one of these lists. Each voter can also vote for a candidate for the office of statutory auditor, even if not connected to the chosen list, by drawing a sign on the relative rectangle. The vote on the list is expressed by drawing a sign on the mark of the chosen list. Each voter can also express a preferential vote for a candidate on the list voted by him by writing his surname on the appropriate line next to the mark. The candidate for the office who obtains the absolute majority of valid votes is elected mayor. If no candidate obtains the majority, a second electoral round takes place – the ballot – which takes place on the second Sunday following that of the first, in this case on 26 June.
The double gender preference
The composition of the lists for the municipal councilors must guarantee the representation of both sexes, and for the municipalities that have more than 5 thousand inhabitants there is the possibility of expressing a double preference within the same list. If two preferences are expressed, the ministry explains, they must refer “to candidates of different genders, under penalty of cancellation of the second choice”. The double preference can also be exercised in the event that separate voting is used. For municipalities with less than 5,000 inhabitants, on the other hand, explains the Interior Ministry, “the only provision for gender balance is the principle according to which ‘the representation of both sexes is ensured in the lists of candidates'”.
Source-tg24.sky.it