Italy In Italy’s complicated presidential election, the old president is likely to become the new president – 80-year-old Sergio Mattarella wouldn’t really want to continue

Italian the next president had been voted on without result for almost a week, with the ruling parties reaching a sufficient consensus on Saturday: the incumbent president Sergio Mattarella asked to extend the second seven-year term.

The latest developments in the presidential election were reported by news agencies AFP and Reuters, among others. It was still open on Saturday afternoon whether 80-year-old Mattarella would agree to continue as president, contrary to his original wish.

Prime minister Mario Draghi called Mattarella and asked him to continue in office “for the good and stability of the country,” Reuters says.

President is the Italian head of state, whose duties are mostly ceremonial.

However, the president has the power to appoint a government, and his role can become crucial, especially during political crises. They are not quite rare in Italy.

Mattare has served as president since 2015. She is the twelfth president in Italian history, having previously served as a judge of the Constitutional Court and as a minister, among others.

Presidential the choice is a cliché operation in Italy in which the people are not directly involved.

In Italy, the choice is made by the conclave of 1,008 “big voters”. These constituents include 630 MPs from the lower house of parliament, 320 senators and 58 regional representatives.

‘Big voters’ (Grandi elettori) will cast their votes in secret ballot. This increases the secretive atmosphere of the election and the opportunities for behind-the-scenes pitching.

Indeed, the presidential election in Rome has sometimes been compared to a geographically close electoral process, the papal election in the Vatican.

Closed the flag vote will also have absurd consequences in the Italian presidential election. In the first rounds of this week, the former prime minister, among others, received votes Bettino Craxi, who died in 2000 in exile in Tunisia with a corruption verdict around his neck.

In the first three rounds, two-thirds of all votes are required to be elected president. That is why Italy has almost never elected a president quickly.

Ten of the 12 presidential elections to date have required at least four rounds of voting, according to an online magazine for foreigners living in Italy. The Local. For example, in 1971, the voting marathon lasted 23 days before Italy got a new president Giovanni Leonesta.

From the fourth from the ballot, a simple majority of 505 votes is sufficient for the election. But that, too, does not make the choice simple, as this election again shows.

The selection process is slowed down by the fact that candidates do not have to be nominated in advance. “Big voters” can put new names on their ballots even every round.

To be elected, the candidate must be an Italian citizen, over 50 years old and alive.