Municipal Elections in Trento Favor Center-Left, South Tyrolean Voting Participation Falls Significantly
LATE-NIGHT VOTING SPIRIT IN TRENTINO-ALTO ADIGE: A wave of voting swept across the region, with 265 municipalities renewing mayors and city councils, including Trento and Bolzano. The political bi-elections were a tough contest, with six mayoral candidates battling it out in both cities.
As of writing, preliminary results show Franco Ianeselli's re-election in Trento appears to be a certainty, as he dominated the race with over 54% of the vote, trouncing center-right opponent Ilaria Goio by 28 points. On the other hand, Bolzano will witness a run-off on May 18, with the center-right candidate Claudio Corrarati leading the vote with 36.3%. Center-left candidate Juri Andriollo is sitting in second place with 27.3%.
APOCALYPTIC TURNOUT NUMBERS
The voter turnout saw a significant drop compared to previous elections. The single voting day and the long weekend probably contributed to the dip. In Bolzano, less than 52.16% of registered voters turned out, marking a stark contrast to the 60.65% turnout in 2020 when elections were held over two days. Trento's voter turnout fell a whopping 11%, with only 49.93% of the electorate casting their ballots compared to the 60.98% in 2020.
Similarly, Alto Adige saw a 2.5% drop in voter turnout, with 62.9% of the voters participating compared to 65.4% in 2020. Trentino's drop was more pronounced, falling approximately 10%.
Although some municipalities saw turnout figures over 90%, others failed to reach 30%, with Novaledo and Samone reporting the lowest turnout of 26.17% and 27.32%, respectively.
THE ONE-HORSE RACE MUNICIPALITIES
Despite the dwindling voter turnout, 84 out of 85 single-candidate municipalities in Trentino reached the necessary quorum. Unfortunately, Cimone fell short, and the municipality will now be administered by the province.
IANESELLI, THE TRENTO’S CHOICE: ROUND 1 WINNER
In Trento, Franco Ianeselli surged ahead in the first round, securing support from a broad coalition of left-leaning parties. He received 54.53% of the vote, leaving his closest competitor, Ilaria Goio, at 26.66%.
Giulia Bortolotti, running under Onda, M5S, and Rifondazione Comunista, came in third with 7.46%. The remaining candidates trailed behind, with Claudio GeatClose Textarea: at 5.09%, Andrea Demarchi at 4.56%, and Simonetta Gabrielli at 1.7%.
THE BOLZANO ROUND-ABOUT: RUNOFF AHEAD
Bolzano’s race is heating up, with the runoff election scheduled for May 18th. Claudio Corrarati, a former president of Cna, leads the vote with 36.3%, boasting over 15,000 votes more than his center-left rival, Juri Andriollo, with 27.3% of the vote.
Should Corrarati win the runoff, he would become Bolzano's first center-right mayor in over 20 years. Stephan Konder of the Svp is in third place with 15.1%. La Civica’s regional councilor Angelo Gennarcaro and Matthias Cologna (Team K) follow closely behind with 12.5% and 6.8%, respectively. However, regional councilor Simonetta Lucchi lags far behind with 2%.
Corrarati goes into the runoff with optimism, expressing gratitude to voters for his strong showing and affirming that if the trend continues, this election would mark a significant shift in Bolzano's political landscape, expressing the desire for change among voters. Andriollo has already begun discussions regarding alliances and is focusing on rallying the voters who did not turn out in the first round.
- The average vote percentage garnered by the mayors-elect in the region was significantly higher than the average voter turnout, as Franco Ianeselli secured 54.53% of the vote in Trento.
- Despite quieter turnouts at the polls, the mayoral elections in Trentino-Alto Adige saw a total of 235 mayors and councils being renewed, demonstrating the ongoing interest in politics among the local community.
- The general news of the elections in Trentino-Alto Adige revealed that a handful of municipalities, such as Novaledo and Samone, had low voter turnouts, with some failing to reach 30%.
- The mayoral race in Bolzano, which will proceed to a run-off on May 18th, demonstrated the preference of voters for change, as the center-right and center-left candidates Claudio Corrarati and Juri Andriollo led the vote with 36.3% and 27.3%, respectively.
