Cateno De Luca doesn’t agree and transforms the bureaucratic knot on the electoral lists into a frontal indictment against the main opponents of this electoral campaign.
At the center of the dispute? The so-called “lentil” strategy: the miniature insertion of the symbol of the South calls the North into various civic lists to obtain exemption from the collection of signatures.
It all – according to De Luca – began on March 14, when the leader of South Calls North questioned the regional managers on the feasibility of presenting 15 lists to the Council and 50 to the neighborhoods without collecting signatures. “Yes, you can do it” the offices would have replied. So much so that De Luca himself states that the Department of Local Autonomy has officially communicated this to all the Municipalities involved since early April.
And it is here that, according to De Luca, a “criminal plan” is triggered. Despite a second favorable opinion requested on 14 April by the general secretary of the Municipality of Messina, Rossana Carrubba, the situation “precipitates” close to the deadline of 24 April.
“Why did the operation start only a week after the deposit, when there was no longer time to collect signatures manually?” thunders De Luca, pointing the finger at an alleged political meeting aimed at “breaking the legs” of his race.
The main target is the centre-right candidate Marcello Scurria, accused of having planned the operation despite being aware of the favorable opinions from the beginning, citing a new document from the Region’s Legal Office, which Scurria flaunts on social media but which is “not ostensible”, i.e. inaccessible.
“Our criminal lawyers thank you – attacks De Luca, addressing Scurria directly – because with your latest reel you have done nothing but worsen your position”.
According to the leader of South calls North, insinuating that regional managers have committed crimes of omission is pure defamation and, by the way, he sent an audio to the President of the Region Renato Schifani to urge legal action.
“I invited the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani, to intervene in his capacity as legal representative of the regional body to protect the good work of the regional offices, in particular of Section V – Service 5 Electoral Office of the Local Autonomy Department, the subject of very serious and completely unfounded accusations by Marcello Scurria”.
This was declared by Cateno De Luca, leader of Sud Lavora Nord, speaking on the case relating to the presentation of lists in view of the local elections in Messina.
“Scurria – continues De Luca – claims that there is an opinion of the Legislative and Legal Office of the Sicilian Region in contrast with what was established by the regional managers, even going so far as to state that the latter committed a serious crime of omission. These are very serious statements”.
“For clarity – adds De Luca – it is appropriate to reconstruct the process once again. On 13 March we posed a formal question to the Regional Department of Local Autonomy – Service 5 Electoral Office, which supervises the correct conduct of electoral procedures in Sicily. A clear answer was received to that question on 16 March, when the Director of the Service communicated that the exemption from collecting signatures is also applicable to a plurality of lists promoted by the same political movement equipped with a duly constituted parliamentary group at the Sicilian Regional Assembly, an opinion then transmitted to all the Prefectures and electoral offices”.
“Subsequently – he continues – on 14 April, the General Secretary of the Municipality of Messina deemed it appropriate to formulate a further question to the same Service 5, requesting a specific clarification on the use of the so-called ‘lentil’ within multiple civic lists. Also in this case, the Service intervened with a further response on 16 April, fully confirming what had already been expressed previously and specifying that there is nothing to prevent the use of the symbol to take advantage of the exemption even in the presence of a plurality of lists”.
“In light of these official documents – he adds – Scurria’s statements are not only unfounded, but constitute a direct attack on the credibility of the regional offices and managers who operated in full compliance with the rules”.
“For this reason I asked President Schifani to intervene immediately to protect the good name of the Sicilian Region, considering filing a complaint against Marcello Scurria”.
De Luca also recalls how “Schifani himself knows well the profile of Scurria, who was revoked as sub-commissioner for the rehabilitation of the Messina slums
in February 2025. A precedent that makes today’s statements even more unacceptable”. “It cannot be allowed – concludes De Luca – that shadows are cast on the regional offices without any foundation”.
For the former mayor of Messina it is an attempt to nullify a scary competitor, preferring complaints to confrontation at the polls. While the complaint against “Siracusano” and the other alleged “directors” of the operation takes shape, the electoral climate in Messina becomes heated.