There are 125 out of 234 Municipalities that will vote on 8 and 9 June in Liguria in conjunction with the European elections.
There is anticipation to see the effects that the judicial earthquake that has shocked the Region with President Giovanni Toti under house arrest since May 7th for corruption will have on voters’ choices. Almost 80% of the administrations are led by centre-right area councils. One million and 300 thousand Ligurians called to the polls.
Three municipalities above the threshold of 15,000 inhabitants will vote in Liguria with the double-round majority electoral system and possible run-off on 23 and 24 June: Rapallo (Genoa) with 29,107 inhabitants currently led by the centre-right, Sanremo (Imperia) with 52,918 inhabitants and Albenga (Savona) with 23,435 inhabitants, both led by the centre-left.
Six mayoral candidates are running for Sanremo: Roberto Danieli (civic), Fulvio Fellegara (centre-left), Alessandro Mager (civic), Erica Martini (Independence), Roberto Rizzo (M5S) and Gianni Rolando (centre-right). Five in Rapallo: Francesco Angiolani (Democratic Party and the ‘Choose Rapallo’ list supported by M5S, Avs and Linea Condivisa), Armando Ezio Capurro (independent), Andrea
Carannante (Libera Rapallo-Unione Popolare), Marco Casella (UDC) and Elisabetta Ricci (centre-right). Two in Albenga: the outgoing mayor Riccardo Tomatis (centre-left) and Nicola Podio (centre-right).
Since Toti’s first electoral victory in 2015, after ten years of Pd administration with Claudio Burlando, Liguria has changed colour, going from a ‘red’ centre-left region to ‘blue’, or rather ‘orange’, considering the color chosen as a symbol from the centre-right civic list which has Toti in its name.
During the last electoral rounds, the centre-right coalition and the ‘Toti model’ have wrested historic ‘red’ strongholds from the centre-left and the M5S, from Genoa to La Spezia, from Sarzana to Sestri Levante up to Savona, the only provincial capital municipality returned to the center-left in 2021, and many other small municipalities. In Imperia, former minister Claudio Scajola was reconfirmed mayor in 2023 with the support of the centre-right. In a month, 53% of Ligurian local administrations will change or reconfirm the mayor with 39 municipalities voting in the province of Genoa, 29 in Imperia, 17 in La Spezia and 40 in Savona.
Of note is the ‘Vado Ligure case’ (Savona) with 8,105 inhabitants, municipality placed under commissionership following the resignation of the centre-left mayor Monica Giuliano, appointed by Toti as commissioner of the regional waste agency of Liguria, and chosen to host the Golar Tundra regasification ship instead of Piombino. Here the center-right does not present any official candidate for mayor. There are two mayoral candidates both against the LNG terminal project with different nuances: on the one hand Franca Guelfi (Vivere Vado list) supported by members of the M5S, who has designated the former five-star senator and president of the parliamentary anti-mafia commission Nicola Morra as councilor, on the other, the outgoing deputy mayor Fabio Gilardi (‘Vado Prima’ list) supported by exponents of the centre-left.
Among the smallest municipalities called to vote is Montegrosso (Imperia), 111 inhabitants registered by Istat, where only one list runs, “United for Montegrosso”. The only candidate is Marco Ferrari, 44 years old, commercial employee and outgoing vice mayor.
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