PADUA, HALF OF THE MUNICIPALITIES TO VOTE BUT THE CANDIDATES ARE DROPPING
The deadlines for submitting lists for the administrative elections of 8 and 9 June expired over the weekend. 52 Paduan municipalities called to the polls, practically half of the municipalities in the province that will renew mayors and municipal councils. Around one in three Paduans will be called to vote, around 300 thousand inhabitants and 34% of the residents of the province. But the most obvious trend, which has been confirmed in recent years, is the decline in candidates. In the 52 municipalities up for vote, there are 115 aspiring mayors: five years ago, in the last round, there were 133. Candidates supported by a total of 145 lists, which line up an army of 1,851 councilor candidates throughout the province, and in some municipalities struggled to close the applications by 12pm on Saturday. The sign that public office and civic commitment are positions and activities that are increasingly less desired by ordinary citizens.
Of the 115 aspiring mayors, 89 are men and 26 are women, less than 25 percent. In Curtarolo, Trebaseleghe, Villa del Conte, Massanzago and Sant’Elena the race is exclusively for women.
In the last ten years, candidates have dropped by 30%. And if there are as many as eight municipalities that will go to the polls with just one candidate, even the major centers are recording more limited competitions than in the past: in Monselice three mayoral candidates are competing – Giorgia Bedin, Luca Callegaro and Giannino Scanferla – while five years ago in the running there were 7 candidates, and 6 ten years ago. Cadoneghe loses two candidacies (and drops from six to four mayoral candidates), while Selvazzano grows, which in the last electoral round had four candidates, and this year it will have five.
Among the 52 municipalities voting in the Padua area, there are four – we remind you – that have over 15 thousand inhabitants and which could therefore foresee a run-off two weeks after the first round if a candidate does not immediately obtain an absolute majority: Selvazzano Dentro, Monselice , Cadoneghe and Rubano.
Finally, there are eight territories that see only one candidate: Masi, Piacenza d’Adige, Urbana, Sant’Elena, Candiana, Arre, Villa del Conte and Massanzago. Municipalities in which voters will find only one list on the ballot, and in which the only objective is to reach a quorum of voters: if 40 percent plus one of those eligible is not reached, we proceed with the commissionership.
