The centre-left wins the 2026 municipal elections in the provincial capitals 10-6 over the centre-right. In the previous consultations the center-left won 8-5. The centre-left beats the centre-right Pistoia in the first round, with Agrigento in the run-off. In the first round the center-left conquered Enna (from Italia viva) and Avellino (from civic lists). The mayors of Mantua, Andria, Prato and Salerno were confirmed in the first round. The mayors of Chieti and Trani are on the ballot. The centre-right wins the mayor of Reggio Calabria from the centre-left in the first round, with Lecco in the run-off. In the first round the centre-right won Crotone (from civic lists). The mayor of Venice confirmed in the first round. The mayors of Arezzo and Macerata are on the ballot. The civic lists confirm the mayors of Fermo, Sanluri and Tempio Pausania (in Sardinia the counting of the first round is still underway, but the race is entirely between civic lists). South calls North confirmed the mayor of Messina in the first round.
According to Youtrend’s calculations, in 50 of the 118 municipalities with more than 15 thousand inhabitants voting for the 2026 local elections, the mayor elected in the first round or in the run-off is centre-left, in 40 he is centre-right and in 28 he is a civic candidate or an expression of other parties. The leavers were instead 59 from the centre-left, 42 from the centre-right and 17 from civic or other parties.
Without any major surprises, the ballots ended with a substantial 3 to 3 in the capitals. The centre-right won, in fact, in Macerata, Lecco and Arezzo. The center-left confirms Chieti and Trani and snatches Agrigento.
Certainly between the first round and the run-off – in municipalities with over 15 thousand inhabitants – the civic lists advance from 17 to 28 mayors, the centre-right loses two (from 42 to 40) and the centre-left nine (from 59 to 50). Adding to these new first citizens the avalanche of new mayors of small and medium-sized municipalities, there is a substantial draw.
But for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni the electoral results “once again confirm the strength of the centre-right, the solidity of the coalition and its roots in the territories”. Compliments and best wishes for good work go to the mayors, “of all sides”, so that they get to work “with seriousness and concreteness”. But the dem leader Elly Schlein replies: “Beyond the propaganda, clear affirmation of the progressive alliance”. And the Democratic Party is clear: in the end in the capitals it is «10 to 6 for us». The entire broad camp is pushing to tighten the bolts, seeing in the vote «a signal to the government that we are a solid alternative». The M5s leader Giuseppe Conte from Genoa urges us to move forward with the progressive agenda and slows down again on the primaries, while Matteo Renzi and Angelo Bonelli point out that the right is not invincible. «A debacle on the left», comments Giovanni Donzelli, Fdi instead draw, in the hours of the unknown Zaia and in the days in which other Northern League members join Roberto Vannacci’s party, however, expectations about the general’s performance deflate, which does not make a difference in Vigevano, where the Fi candidate Paolo Previde Massara wins, supported by half of the Vannaccians, who do not follow the leader’s indication for abstention. Forza Italia rejoices for this and other confirmations, which is certainly in favor. In Arezzo Marcello Comanducci, inventor of the Christmas Markets and AI enthusiast, wins with the compact support of the center-right and the decisive votes of Action. In Lecco the revenge is served and the center-right takes back Palazzo Bovara with Filippo Boscagli.
The centre-left instead conquers Agrigento with Michele Sodano, born in 1989, former grillino and XFactor competitor, who relaunches the centre-left with La Vardera’s movement. In Chieti the new mayor is the dem Giovanni Legnini, former vice president of the CSM. Meanwhile in Foggia, the progressive mayor Maria Aida Episcopo, an exponent of the wide camp and mayor elected in 2023 by one of the first agreements between Schlein and Conte, resigns. The vote in the municipalities does not in fact change the currently uncertain trajectory of the electoral law, with the center-left not revealing its cards and Fdi accelerating, attempting to drag Pd and M5s with the bait of preferences.