Rome set to get its 1st woman mayor

Rome, June 6: Anti- establishment candidate Virginia Raggi took a clear lead in the first round of Rome’s mayoral polls on Sunday, in a sign of voter discontent at a slew of graft scandals in the capital that have involved politicians from Italy’s mainstream parties.

Ms Raggi, a 37- year- old lawyer and mother of one, got 35.35 per cent of votes compared with 24.81 per cent polled by her nearest rival, centre- left candidate Roberto Giachetti amid low voter turnout according to almost final data.

Ms Raggi, from the populist, internet- based Five Star movement will now face Mr Giachetti, a member of Italian Premier Matteo Renzi’s Democratic Party at a run- off on 19 June.

Right- wing candidate Giorgia Meloni, came third in Sunday’s vote with 20.68 per cent of ballots cast. Voter turnout in Rome on Sunday was 57.19 per cent, a significant drop from turnout of 67.42 per cent for local elections in the capital in 2013.

Ms Meloni was backed by the anti- immigrant Northern League, whose leader Matteo Salvini aspires to becoming the leader of a united right. Meloni is from the Fratelli d’Italia party, one of several small groups that emerged from Italy’s neo- fascist movement.

With the exception of Rome and Naples, the Democratic Party is ahead in the mayoral races in all of Italy’s main cities.