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No clear favourites in presidential race as Italy heads for fourth round of voting

The Local/AFP
The Local/AFP - [email protected]
No clear favourites in presidential race as Italy heads for fourth round of voting
The car carrying Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte leaves the Presidential Quirinale palace in Rome on January 26, 2021, after a meeting with Italian President to deliver his resignation. - Conte's coalition government, which has been in power since September 2019, was plunged into turmoil by the withdrawal last week of former premier Matteo Renzi's Italia Viva party. Media reports suggest he will seek a new mandate to form a new government to run Italy as it battles the coronavirus pandemic, which has left more than 85,000 people dead in the country and crippled the economy. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP)

The third round of voting in Italy's presidential elections on Wednesday resulted in another deadlock, prompting a fourth vote on Thursday.

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Italy's presidential election is set to drag on for several more days after a third round of voting by secret ballot produced no clear winner - as expected.

Two-thirds of the vote would be needed at this stage to produce a winner, but no candidate has come close.

Doubts over candidates led some 412 of the 1,000 or so voting MPs, senators and regional representatives to cast blank ballots on Wednesday.

READ ALSO: The Italian vocabulary you’ll need to follow the presidential election

There were 125 votes for outgoing president Sergio Mattarella, followed by 114 for Guido Crosetto, a businessman and co-founder of the far-right Brothers of Italy party, who has so far not been considered a serious contender.

Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who was the frontrunner for the post ahead of the election, pocketed just five votes as the country's parties apparently panicked at the idea of pulling him from his job at such a sensitive time.

Political analysts have warned that moving the former European Central Bank head to the presidential palace could deal a fatal blow to an already weak coalition government, sparking snap elections.

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The bar to win will be significantly lowered in the next round of voting on Thursday, as the threshold for victory now falls from a two-thirds majority to an absolute majority of 505.

Italy's president is a largely ceremonial figure but wields great political power in crises. 

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