Irregular signature collection, San Prospero placed under police administration

The Municipality of San Prospero, in the province of Modena, will be placed under commissionership. The Council of State overturns the ruling of the TAR of Emilia-Romagna and confirms the refusal of the two lists presented for the renewal of the mayor and the municipal council of San Prospero, opening the doors to the arrival – shortly – of a prefectural commissioner. The ruling of the highest special administrative judge definitively closes a matter that has been dragging on since May 12, i.e. since the second provincial electoral subcommission, called to carry out the control of the documentation presented to the municipalities by the lists, had detected formal defects in the presentation of the subscriber lists . The TAR, addressed by Sauro Borghi, candidate for mayor of the centre-left civic party “San Prospero 2030 – Sauro Borghi Sindaco”, and Bruno Fontana, who leads the centre-right inspired list “San Prospero for Change”, had rejected this interpretation judging it “disproportionate”. Now, however, the Council of State, yesterday accepting the appeal presented on May 20 by the State Attorney General on behalf of the Prefecture of Modena and the 1st and 2nd District Electoral Subcommittee of Modena, ruled that “in reforming the appealed sentence, it rejects the first instance appeal”. The reason explained and reiterated by the Council of State is that “the additional forms used for signing the lists, when without the indication of the list mark and the list of candidates, must necessarily be joined to the first sheet by additional elements compared to the simple tapping (linear stamps, signatures, etc.), in order to allow the Electoral Commission to verify unequivocally that the signatories were aware of giving their support to that particular list and the related candidates”. By virtue of this decision, the 4,000 voters of San Prospere will vote only in the European elections on 8 and 9 June. For the renewal of the administration, however, everything is postponed.