ROME: Italian lawmakers will meet on Thursday to begin voting to elect a new president, parliament said in a statement, amid hopes that the election could help end a deadlock on forming a new government.
The joint session of both chambers of parliament together with regional representatives — making for 1,007 voters in total — will meet at 0800 GMT, said the statement released yesterday.
There needs to be a two-thirds majority behind a single candidate in the first three rounds of voting, after which a simple majority will suffice.
No single party or coalition holds a simple majority, meaning there will have to be some kind of compromise which analysts hope could be the basis for a broader agreement to establish a new government after two months of deadlock.
Pier Luigi Bersani’s centre-left coalition narrowly won the February 24-25 elections but failed to get enough votes for an overall majority in parliament.
He has failed to woo lawmakers from a new anti-establishment party, the Five Star Movement, and has ruled out a grand coalition with Silvio Berlusconi’s centre-right coalition, which came a very close second in the election.
Behind-the-scenes talks between parties in recent days have focused on the presidential vote — seen as a key step since the new president will have the power to dissolve parliament and call early elections if there is no deal.
AFP
