Ballots are being prepared for Sunday's general elections as a polling station is being set up in a school in Rome, Saturday, March 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Italy elections 2018 Live Updates: Ballots are being prepared for Sunday’s general elections as a polling station is being set up in a school in Rome, Saturday, March 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Italy goes to polls on Sunday in what could bring political stalemate after a poll campaign rife with public displeasure over the country’s stagnant economy, high unemployment rates and immigration. Analysts and experts say that it is possible that Silvio Berlusconi, former Italian Prime Minister, and his far-right allies might emerge with the leading bloc in parliament, but might miss being the majority by a sliver.
The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement looks set to be the biggest single party, feeding off discontent over entrenched corruption and growing poverty, while the ruling centre-left Democratic Party (PD) is seen limping home in third place. “There was momentum for 5-Star in the final days of the campaign, but it is hard to see any party or coalition getting the 40 percent needed to form a government,” Lorenzo Pregliasco, co-founder of YouTrend pollsters, told news agency Associated Press.
Heavily indebted Italy is the third largest economy in the 19-member euro zone and although investors have been sanguine ahead of the ballot, prolonged political stalemate could reawaken the threat of market instability. Polling stations will be open from 7.00 a.m. to 11.00 p.m. (0600-2200 GMT), with exit polls due immediately afterwards. The vote is being held under a complex new electoral law which means the final result might not be clear until late Monday.
LIVE UPDATES for Italy elections 2018 below:
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