Having said that in Viareggio people vote much less than in the past, there are two questions: how much do they vote? And above all: who is deserting the polls? Let’s get this straight: there is less voting “beyond the railway”, in the suburbs, and the turnout is driven by the major residential neighbourhoods, the only ones where the 50 percent mark is broken. Torre del Lago is also below average, both Italian and Viareggio.
First data: in the city, 24,395 people went to the polls out of the 50,772 eligible voters, 48.05 percent. Who drives turnout? First of all Marco Polo and Don Bosco: in Viani (sections 15-22) 3,070 people voted out of 5,686, equal to 53.99 percent. The Airfield follows: between Sbrana (41-43, 45-46, 49) and Tenuta (44, 47-48, 52) 3,809 citizens out of 7,303 went to the polls, i.e. 52.16 percent of the total. Similar numbers in Darsena: in the two sections of Jenco (50-51) 638 people showed up out of the 1,227 eligible people, i.e. 52 percent in total.
Excluding these two ‘happy islands’ at the two extremes of the city, and strictly in the area facing the sea, the number of those entitled is always below half. The most alarming data comes from Varignano: just 1,678 people out of 4,570 went to the five sections of the Lenci (32, 35-37, 39-40), i.e. 36.72 percent. In the neighborhood, just over one in three people went to vote, with a delay of more than 11 percentage points on the city average. Numbers that are impressive and should lead us to reflect on the state of health of participation (and democracy) in a neighborhood full of difficulties.
Migliarina takes the silver medal for abstentionism: in sections 23-24 and 26, 1,133 people out of 2,477 attended, 45.74 percent. Data significantly improving, but still below average, in Terminetto (sections 25, 27-31, 33), where 2,932 voters bothered to go to the polls, out of a total of 6,371 eligible voters: this is 46, 02 percent. A figure practically similar (46.03 percent) to that recorded in Torre del Lago: in the Puccini district, 3,080 people out of 6,707 went to Tomei (sections 53-60), while to Puccini (61-63) they went to 1,176 citizens out of 2,539 eligible to vote. The sum for Torre del Lago tells of 4,256 voters out of 9,246. Things aren’t much better in Bicchio: in the Levante (34, 38) 812 people voted out of 1,762, i.e. 46.08 percent. And the center? Between Lambruschini (1-5, 7), Barsanti (6, 8, 12-13) and Motto (9, 10-11, 14) respectively 2,586 people out of 5,583, 1,324 out of 3,255 and 1,726 out of 3,292 went to vote: this is that is, 5,636 voters out of 12,130, with a 46.46 percent which also places the center below the city average.
Daniele Mannocchi
