by Laura Lucente
Just a few more hours to get to know the new mayor and the majority who will administer the city. After the first day of voting, the polls reopened this morning at 7 am and until 3 pm for the citizens of the Etruscan city it will be possible to express their preference for one of the two candidates on the ballot. The match is between the outgoing mayor Luciano Meoni, candidate for the civic lists Futuro per and Movimento autonomico popular and the former mayor Andrea Vignini supported instead by the Democratic Party, Movimento 5 stelle and Civica. The data in the first round sees Meoni surpass Vignini by almost 10 percentage points. Fifteen days ago the outgoing mayor had stopped at 45.4%, while Vignini at 36.5%. Voters must choose one of the two candidates on the ballot by drawing a cross in the box where the name and surname are indicated. Compared to the first round, in this vote it is not possible to cast a separate vote. The voters called to the polls are 17,605 of which 9,079 females and 8,526 males. There are 30 voting stations in the municipal area. The lion’s share is played by the populous hamlet of Camucia which alone expresses 28% of the preferences with almost 5 thousand active voters.
Closely, the other fraction to take into due consideration is Terontola which alone represents 12% (2131 voters), but if combined with the nearby Ossaia (492 voters) it reaches 15%. The electoral sections that belong to the three constituencies of the historic center which together count 2380 voters, thus expressing 13.5% of the voting preferences, are no small feat. Some data on turnout: on 9 and 10 June last year, 68.71% of those entitled to vote went to the polls for the first round of administrative elections. In 2019, the year in which Meoni was elected again with “extra time” in the run-off, the final percentage of voters at the polls was 65.65%. Yesterday’s turnout gradually increased. At 12 noon, 2588 citizens had voted, equal to 14.7%. At 7pm the percentage had risen to 38.5%, equal to 6,783 voters.
At 11pm the polls closed with 8640 voters equal to 49.08%, one of the highest figures in Tuscany. Among those who went to express their preference was also the well-known singer-songwriter from Cortona Lorenzo Cherubini aka Jovanotti who yesterday morning, around 11am, returned to the G. Mancini primary school in via Gioco del Pallone in the historic center of the city to vote. Sailor hat on, he voted in section 2. His wife Francesca Valiani was also with him. However, daughter Teresa is absent. Over 200 people have been mobilised, including Municipality employees, scrutineers and polling staff, as well as the police who are ensuring the perfect conduct of the elections. The immediate counting will take place at 3 pm.
