By Prensa Latina,
Roma : Italians are going to the polls in the context of early elections, which could grant a third term of office to Silvio Berlusconi, leader of PDL (People of Freedom) a center-rightwing coalition, the favorite in the surveys.
Some 50 million electors, with around three million living abroad, are choosing between the owner of a communication empire in the peninsula or Rome’s ex mayor Walter Veltroni, for the PD (Democratic Party).
According to the plan, the 61,000 colleges in 8,100 municipalities opened their doors to hold the elections, which will conclude on Monday.
At noon, local time, 16, 3 percent of the voters has cast their votes, showing a decrease of almost one point in participation, compared to the previous elections, the interior minister reported.
Differently from previous times, when 20 parties were grouping in alliances and presented a single candidacy for the prime minister post, there are 15 candidates for that post on 32 electoral lists.
The change in that mechanism was planned and imposed by Berlusconi in his position of prime minister, before the 2006 general elections.
Political scientists asserted that another government voted under that system will prove to be unstable, as that of Romano Prodi, who was in power just 20 months and was forced to resign in February, after losing support by a small party.
The electoral law currently in force favors proliferation of minority groups in the Parliament, and it could cause that any figure with small majority in the cabinet were eliminated on the way, if one of them decided to withdraw.