Incumbent President Mattarella Re-elected in Italian Presidential Election... Decision Made 6 Days After Voting Began (Comprehensive)

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] In the Italian presidential election, incumbent President Sergio Mattarella (80) was re-elected. After six days and eight rounds of voting, the Italian presidential election came to an end.

On the 29th (local time), President Mattarella was elected with a majority of 759 votes in the 8th round of voting held that day. Out of 1,009 electors stipulated by the constitution, 983 participated in the vote, with the majority threshold set at 505 votes.

Thus, President Mattarella became the second president in constitutional history to be re-elected, following former President Giorgio Napolitano (96). Born in Sicily, Mattarella, a legal scholar and lawyer, was first elected to the lower house in 1983 as a member of the Christian Democratic Party and served seven terms until 2008. He also participated in the cabinet, serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Parliamentary Relations, Education, and Defense.

After announcing his retirement from politics in 2008 and living as a private citizen, he was appointed as a Constitutional Court judge in October 2011 during Napolitano’s presidency, and was elected as the twelfth constitutional president in January 2015. During his presidency, he has been praised for his gentle personality, excellent governance, and crisis management skills, earning national respect and trust.

Mario Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank (ECB) and Prime Minister, was appointed by Mattarella to resolve the political crisis after the collapse of Giuseppe Conte’s cabinet due to coalition conflicts in January last year.

Although President Mattarella had publicly stated since the end of last year that he would not seek re-election, the political sphere failed to find a suitable successor, ultimately leading to his return to serve the nation once again.

Previously, left- and right-wing party groups had assumed Mattarella’s retirement as a given and spent weeks searching for a joint presidential candidate. However, even after the presidential voting began on the 24th, tensions over candidate nominations persisted, and all seven rounds of voting ended without a conclusion due to blank votes and abstentions by electors from major parties.

In this situation, major parties, seeing no alternative, agreed to push for Mattarella’s reappointment, reversing the atmosphere. Furthermore, Prime Minister Draghi reportedly officially requested President Mattarella to "stay in office for the sake of national and political stability," leading to speculation that the tide had effectively turned.

Before the 8th round of voting, leaders of major parties visited the Quirinal Palace, the presidential residence in Rome, to convey this intention to President Mattarella. President Mattarella also effectively accepted by stating, "If the country needs me, I will continue to perform the duties of the presidency," bringing the Italian presidential election to a close.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.