Quirinale, Monday begins: what you need to know about the vote and the numbers of the sides

The term of office of Sergio Mattarella expires on 3 February and Roberto Fico has called the Parliament in joint session for the election of the President of the Republic which begins on Monday 24 January.

WHO ARE THE GREAT VOTERS - They are 1,009: 630 deputies, 321 senators including six for life, 58 delegates from the Regional Councils (three for the Region, one for the Aosta Valley, the Sardinians are Christian Solinas, Michele Pais and Gianfranco Ganau) .

VOTING OPERATIONS - This year, due to Covid and due to the sanitation operations that lengthen the times, one vote per day will be carried out instead of the usual two.

It starts on January 24th at 3 pm, Roberto Fico who chairs the session will read the list of regional delegates, then the voting operations will begin in the Chamber of Deputies. You vote in person and the session, even if it takes place over several days, is considered unique. Parliament will be convened every day for a single vote until the white smoke.

This year, again due to Covid, there are no traditional wooden bier with curtain, not very sanitizable, but four brand new voting booths equipped with ventilation systems and which in any case guarantee the secrecy of the vote.

The vote is secret, which is why the snipers are often tripped up during the election of the President of the Republic. All the senators vote first, then the deputies, then the regional delegates. The call is done twice. Major voters must enter the Chamber strictly with the Ffp2 mask.

THE UNDERCARRIAGE - Roberto Fico takes care of it, reading aloud the names of the candidates one by one. The account is kept by the officials of the Chamber and by the members of the Montecitorio presidency office, on the occasion "scrutineers".

In order to be recorded in the minutes, the candidates' preferences must be at least two and whoever receives only one vote is counted among the missing.

HOW THE POSITIVES VOTE - Sergio Mattarella has signed a decree law to allow large voters in isolation or quarantine for Covid to participate in the votes.

"They are authorized - the decree provides -, subject to communication to the territorially competent healthcare company, to travel with their own or medical vehicles on the national territory, for the time strictly necessary for voting operations and in any case in such a way as to prevent the risk of contagion, exclusively to reach the seat of Parliament, where the vote takes place and to return to one's residence or residence ".

They can vote in a drive-in seat set up specifically in the Montecitorio car park. During the journey it is forbidden to use public transport, stop in public places, come into contact with subjects other than those in charge of voting operations. They must also wear Ffp2 masks outdoors and indoors.

THE QUORUM - In the first three ballots a qualified majority of two thirds of the assembly is required, 673 major electors out of 1009. From the fourth ballot onwards, an absolute majority is sufficient, ie half plus one of the major electors, 505. For this second various observers and protagonists of Italian politics, Mattarella's successor will be elected on Thursday or Friday. The presidents of the Chamber and Senate do not participate in the vote.

THE NUMBERS OF THE ARRANGEMENTS - The center-right can count on 451 electors: 212 from the League, 138 from Forza Italia, 64 from Fratelli d'Italia, 32 from Coraggio Italia, 5 from Us with Italy.

The 5 Star Movement has 234 electors, the Pd 153, LeU 18. So the united center-left can count on 405 votes.

The centrists. Italia Viva, needle of the balance together with the Mixed Group, has 45. Then there is the Democratic Center which has 6, Action-Plus Europe 5 for a total of 56 major voters.

Again: the Maie (Italian association movement abroad) has 2, linguistic minorities 10.

Then the six senators for life (Giorgio Napolitano, Mario Monti, Elena Cattaneo, Renzo Piano, Carlo Rubbia, Liliana Segre).

Finally, the 79 of the Mixed Group, of which about forty are not members of any member and are mostly ex Movimento 5 Stelle.

(Unioneonline / L)