There will be 3,715 out of 7,896 Italian municipalities (47.0%),
including those in the ordinary and special statute regions called to
the polls on 8 and 9 June, for a total of almost 17 million voters.
Among the cities there are 27 provincial capitals: Ascoli Piceno,
Avellino, Bergamo, Biella, Caltanissetta, Cremona, Ferrara, Forlì,
Lecce, Livorno, Modena, Pavia, Pesaro, Pescara, Prato, Reggio Emilia,
Rovigo, Sassari, Verbania , Vercelli and Vibo Valentia, to which six
regional capitals must be added: Bari, Cagliari, Campobasso, Florence,
Perugia and Potenza. In Piedmont, approximately three million and 600
thousand voters are called to the polls for the election of the Regional
Council.
In municipalities with a population exceeding 15 thousand inhabitants,
the mayoral elections take place together with the council election; if
a mayoral candidate obtains an absolute majority of valid votes, he is
immediately proclaimed elected, otherwise a run-off will take place
which will take place on 23 and 24 June 2024. These rules do not apply
to the regions and autonomous provinces.
Within 7 days of the first round, the lists of candidates who did not go
to the second round can reach an agreement with one of the candidates
still in the running, officially supporting him for the second round. In
municipalities with more than 5 thousand inhabitants, the most
represented gender cannot exceed two thirds and the preference votes can
be 2, but in this case the double gender preference applies. Different
and specific rules are foreseen for the municipalities of the Regions
with special statute.
Furthermore, the electoral regulations provide for majority bonuses.
In municipalities with more than 15,000 inhabitants, if a mayoral
candidate is elected in the first round, the lists that support him
receive 60% of the seats. This is provided that they have not obtained
more through proportional distribution, or if they have obtained less
than 40% of the votes, to allow governability. This hypothesis can
occur in the event that the absolute majority of voters voted for a
mayoral candidate and that, at the same time, many voters expressed a
split vote, or did not vote at all for the council. 60% is the share of
seats assigned as a majority bonus to the group of lists supporting the
elected mayoral candidate.
Even if a candidate is elected in the second round, the lists that
support him receive 60% of the seats, provided they have not obtained more.
Between abstentionism and participation
This, in summary, is what the electoral law establishes in a country
where voter participation is decreasing at an increasing rate,
effectively distorting the role of the institutions and handing the
local administration into the hands of increasingly narrow interest
groups which, despite representing a small number of citizens, they
gather a sufficient number of consensus to guarantee them power. The
result is that it is enough to have around 30% of the overall electoral
vote to govern. The proliferation of lists is part of this situation,
facilitated by the electoral mechanism which induces the presentation of
linked lists in larger municipalities, a mechanism which allows interest
groups to organize themselves to weigh in on the management of the
administration. Although it might seem that such an organization of the
vote stimulates participation, the constant growth of abstentionism
tells us that the opposite effect has been achieved.
Faced with the growing management problems of local administrations,
called to deal primarily with land management, which is increasingly
problematic due to the degradation of the environment and the need for
organization of services, we are instead witnessing the proliferation of
speculative activities which , more or less everywhere, are trying to
manage cities, emptying historic centers for speculative purposes,
strengthening large-scale distribution, destroying the social fabric
connected to widespread distribution, effectively erasing the middle
class from the most valuable urban fabric. The result is that of
transformation of historic centers into fast food restaurants and Bed &
Breakfasts, or rather into dormitory neighborhoods given over to
tourist-hotel speculation, devoid of a social fabric, which at night are
emptied of their life to host the tourists on duty.
In this situation that characterizes the country like wildfire, there is
no single solution to be tested, a path that leads to the participation
and involvement of citizens, but it is necessary to look for place by
place, situation by situation, neighborhood by neighborhood, solutions
possibilities of participation, so as to be able to influence the
choices that administrations adopt, whatever the electoral result.
It is possible to bring about the rebirth of participation only if those
elected are constantly pressed by citizens mobilized in defense of their
needs and interests, who, through active and demanding behaviour,
monitor territorial management choices and intervene with mobilization
and proposals, contributing to mobilization, to impose alternative
solutions to those developed by speculation.
Such a way of proceeding requires constant attention, active presence,
proposals, from which, over time, attention to a healthy participation
in the management of local institutions can be reborn which can only
pass through the mobilization of citizens and the adoption of constant
tools of consultation and participation, which by intervening on the
modus operandi of local administrations, recognize requests and moments
of participation in the territory that go beyond delegation, subjecting
those elected to constant control and verification of the mandate.
The political forces know well that these needs are present in society
and, not surprisingly, they try to give an answer to this need for
participation through differentiated autonomy, which is the most wrong
instrument among those possible, since, by affecting the distribution of
the wealth produced, creates a selfish management of resources that
ignores the possibility of distributing them equitably and making them
available to achieve balanced and thoughtful growth of the territory
that meets the interests of all its inhabitants.
In this situation, in response to a need felt in the territories, we end
up increasing the current institutional distortions, through a false
instrument, that of strengthening the Regions, which become small-scale
States, with all the negative characteristics of bureaucratic
accentuation , of fragmentation of skills and institutional
burdensomeness which are typical of a short-sighted, obtuse bureaucracy
that is anything but functional to the development of the territories.
Need for reforms
The country needs a reform of local authorities that starts from the
bottom, which is characterized by participation, also because this would
be the best antidote to abstentionism. We are faced with an emergency
situation in which we must take note of the reduction of the population
in the area and the need for its different distribution. There are many
small centers that are disappearing and therefore the administrations
should be merged to restore the administrative management of the
territory to more efficient and effective tools, commensurate with the
size of the services to be provided and the needs of the users.
This means redesigning the boundaries and tasks of local authorities,
introducing a modern management of the territory that takes into account
the actual allocation of the inhabitants, and that is able to provide
for their actual needs in a social structure that transforms more
rapidly than the as we are used to, adapting like a glove to the
changing situation and the questions that come from the inhabitants.
Involving them in the management and provision of personal services
which should be strengthened and improved.
New tasks are imposed on local administrations which concern employment,
social organization aimed at work, and therefore roads and services. For
local administrations, the creation and management of nursery schools
becomes crucial in order to allow families to manage and educate their
children, the development of services for the elderly, given the growth
in their number and the now evident inability of family structure to
make up for the needs arising from their management. A different
approach by local administrations is also necessary in relation to
health services distributed across the territory and the provision of
local assistance and medicine, especially in the face of the progressive
withdrawal of public institutions from an organized presence in the
territory. An enhancement of skills must be foreseen in the management
of the territory, of the economic activities that take place there,
which must be monitored to avoid the relocation and desertification of
production activities.
Beyond the contingent choices imposed by the electoral deadlines, we
anarchist communists need to develop a profound reflection on our
relationship with the management of the territory, clarifying what
management we want, how we think participation should develop, how they
should be having adopted the necessary broader strategic choices,
reflecting on the criteria of representation and participation, in order
to recover the public interest and the public management of the common
good, citizens, but also residents, whose needs we cannot ignore, as
they represent a growing part of those who live in the area and who, by
working and providing their services, enable their existence.
Today the territory is inhabited by a diverse set of subjects, not all
of whom possess the same rights and not only due to economic capacity or
wealth, but also due to the lack of citizenship, so in the face of the
progressive decline of the native resident population, there is a
growing in the area the number of residents who do not have the right to
participate in the vote and above all to see their interests defended
and, in some way, represented in the institutions. From this further
fact derives an ever greater impoverishment of the capacity of the
institutions to effectively represent the territory and the interests
that develop in it, with the result of a progressive deterioration and a
decline in the representation of the institutions.
None of these factors worries the various parties participating in the
electoral campaign, none of them poses these problems of managing a
territory whose social composition has changed significantly and is
subject to further profound changes. This situation tells us about the
political inadequacy of the various parties, so we are witnessing the
paradox that if it is true that on our part there is not yet a mature
strategy for the management of the territory, it is also true that the
other political forces are not they don't even notice the existence of
the problem and therefore don't ask themselves how it is possible to
intervene and solve it.
Giving an answer is increasingly urgent if we do not want the next
certain referendum on differentiated autonomy to be resolved to the
advantage of the Northern League members, who must be opposed with a
strong proposal for the re-foundation of the institutions, of
participation, which has involvement as its distinctive element full
rights of residents in the
management of public interests and needs or through the attribution of
citizenship with changed rules or in any case allowing the participation
of residents in bodies managing the territory and the public activities
that concern it in order to guarantee a participatory membership in
institutional life.
The Editorial Staff
https://www.ucadi.org/2024/05/22/il-voto-amministrativo-in-un-paese-allo-sbando/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
including those in the ordinary and special statute regions called to
the polls on 8 and 9 June, for a total of almost 17 million voters.
Among the cities there are 27 provincial capitals: Ascoli Piceno,
Avellino, Bergamo, Biella, Caltanissetta, Cremona, Ferrara, Forlì,
Lecce, Livorno, Modena, Pavia, Pesaro, Pescara, Prato, Reggio Emilia,
Rovigo, Sassari, Verbania , Vercelli and Vibo Valentia, to which six
regional capitals must be added: Bari, Cagliari, Campobasso, Florence,
Perugia and Potenza. In Piedmont, approximately three million and 600
thousand voters are called to the polls for the election of the Regional
Council.
In municipalities with a population exceeding 15 thousand inhabitants,
the mayoral elections take place together with the council election; if
a mayoral candidate obtains an absolute majority of valid votes, he is
immediately proclaimed elected, otherwise a run-off will take place
which will take place on 23 and 24 June 2024. These rules do not apply
to the regions and autonomous provinces.
Within 7 days of the first round, the lists of candidates who did not go
to the second round can reach an agreement with one of the candidates
still in the running, officially supporting him for the second round. In
municipalities with more than 5 thousand inhabitants, the most
represented gender cannot exceed two thirds and the preference votes can
be 2, but in this case the double gender preference applies. Different
and specific rules are foreseen for the municipalities of the Regions
with special statute.
Furthermore, the electoral regulations provide for majority bonuses.
In municipalities with more than 15,000 inhabitants, if a mayoral
candidate is elected in the first round, the lists that support him
receive 60% of the seats. This is provided that they have not obtained
more through proportional distribution, or if they have obtained less
than 40% of the votes, to allow governability. This hypothesis can
occur in the event that the absolute majority of voters voted for a
mayoral candidate and that, at the same time, many voters expressed a
split vote, or did not vote at all for the council. 60% is the share of
seats assigned as a majority bonus to the group of lists supporting the
elected mayoral candidate.
Even if a candidate is elected in the second round, the lists that
support him receive 60% of the seats, provided they have not obtained more.
Between abstentionism and participation
This, in summary, is what the electoral law establishes in a country
where voter participation is decreasing at an increasing rate,
effectively distorting the role of the institutions and handing the
local administration into the hands of increasingly narrow interest
groups which, despite representing a small number of citizens, they
gather a sufficient number of consensus to guarantee them power. The
result is that it is enough to have around 30% of the overall electoral
vote to govern. The proliferation of lists is part of this situation,
facilitated by the electoral mechanism which induces the presentation of
linked lists in larger municipalities, a mechanism which allows interest
groups to organize themselves to weigh in on the management of the
administration. Although it might seem that such an organization of the
vote stimulates participation, the constant growth of abstentionism
tells us that the opposite effect has been achieved.
Faced with the growing management problems of local administrations,
called to deal primarily with land management, which is increasingly
problematic due to the degradation of the environment and the need for
organization of services, we are instead witnessing the proliferation of
speculative activities which , more or less everywhere, are trying to
manage cities, emptying historic centers for speculative purposes,
strengthening large-scale distribution, destroying the social fabric
connected to widespread distribution, effectively erasing the middle
class from the most valuable urban fabric. The result is that of
transformation of historic centers into fast food restaurants and Bed &
Breakfasts, or rather into dormitory neighborhoods given over to
tourist-hotel speculation, devoid of a social fabric, which at night are
emptied of their life to host the tourists on duty.
In this situation that characterizes the country like wildfire, there is
no single solution to be tested, a path that leads to the participation
and involvement of citizens, but it is necessary to look for place by
place, situation by situation, neighborhood by neighborhood, solutions
possibilities of participation, so as to be able to influence the
choices that administrations adopt, whatever the electoral result.
It is possible to bring about the rebirth of participation only if those
elected are constantly pressed by citizens mobilized in defense of their
needs and interests, who, through active and demanding behaviour,
monitor territorial management choices and intervene with mobilization
and proposals, contributing to mobilization, to impose alternative
solutions to those developed by speculation.
Such a way of proceeding requires constant attention, active presence,
proposals, from which, over time, attention to a healthy participation
in the management of local institutions can be reborn which can only
pass through the mobilization of citizens and the adoption of constant
tools of consultation and participation, which by intervening on the
modus operandi of local administrations, recognize requests and moments
of participation in the territory that go beyond delegation, subjecting
those elected to constant control and verification of the mandate.
The political forces know well that these needs are present in society
and, not surprisingly, they try to give an answer to this need for
participation through differentiated autonomy, which is the most wrong
instrument among those possible, since, by affecting the distribution of
the wealth produced, creates a selfish management of resources that
ignores the possibility of distributing them equitably and making them
available to achieve balanced and thoughtful growth of the territory
that meets the interests of all its inhabitants.
In this situation, in response to a need felt in the territories, we end
up increasing the current institutional distortions, through a false
instrument, that of strengthening the Regions, which become small-scale
States, with all the negative characteristics of bureaucratic
accentuation , of fragmentation of skills and institutional
burdensomeness which are typical of a short-sighted, obtuse bureaucracy
that is anything but functional to the development of the territories.
Need for reforms
The country needs a reform of local authorities that starts from the
bottom, which is characterized by participation, also because this would
be the best antidote to abstentionism. We are faced with an emergency
situation in which we must take note of the reduction of the population
in the area and the need for its different distribution. There are many
small centers that are disappearing and therefore the administrations
should be merged to restore the administrative management of the
territory to more efficient and effective tools, commensurate with the
size of the services to be provided and the needs of the users.
This means redesigning the boundaries and tasks of local authorities,
introducing a modern management of the territory that takes into account
the actual allocation of the inhabitants, and that is able to provide
for their actual needs in a social structure that transforms more
rapidly than the as we are used to, adapting like a glove to the
changing situation and the questions that come from the inhabitants.
Involving them in the management and provision of personal services
which should be strengthened and improved.
New tasks are imposed on local administrations which concern employment,
social organization aimed at work, and therefore roads and services. For
local administrations, the creation and management of nursery schools
becomes crucial in order to allow families to manage and educate their
children, the development of services for the elderly, given the growth
in their number and the now evident inability of family structure to
make up for the needs arising from their management. A different
approach by local administrations is also necessary in relation to
health services distributed across the territory and the provision of
local assistance and medicine, especially in the face of the progressive
withdrawal of public institutions from an organized presence in the
territory. An enhancement of skills must be foreseen in the management
of the territory, of the economic activities that take place there,
which must be monitored to avoid the relocation and desertification of
production activities.
Beyond the contingent choices imposed by the electoral deadlines, we
anarchist communists need to develop a profound reflection on our
relationship with the management of the territory, clarifying what
management we want, how we think participation should develop, how they
should be having adopted the necessary broader strategic choices,
reflecting on the criteria of representation and participation, in order
to recover the public interest and the public management of the common
good, citizens, but also residents, whose needs we cannot ignore, as
they represent a growing part of those who live in the area and who, by
working and providing their services, enable their existence.
Today the territory is inhabited by a diverse set of subjects, not all
of whom possess the same rights and not only due to economic capacity or
wealth, but also due to the lack of citizenship, so in the face of the
progressive decline of the native resident population, there is a
growing in the area the number of residents who do not have the right to
participate in the vote and above all to see their interests defended
and, in some way, represented in the institutions. From this further
fact derives an ever greater impoverishment of the capacity of the
institutions to effectively represent the territory and the interests
that develop in it, with the result of a progressive deterioration and a
decline in the representation of the institutions.
None of these factors worries the various parties participating in the
electoral campaign, none of them poses these problems of managing a
territory whose social composition has changed significantly and is
subject to further profound changes. This situation tells us about the
political inadequacy of the various parties, so we are witnessing the
paradox that if it is true that on our part there is not yet a mature
strategy for the management of the territory, it is also true that the
other political forces are not they don't even notice the existence of
the problem and therefore don't ask themselves how it is possible to
intervene and solve it.
Giving an answer is increasingly urgent if we do not want the next
certain referendum on differentiated autonomy to be resolved to the
advantage of the Northern League members, who must be opposed with a
strong proposal for the re-foundation of the institutions, of
participation, which has involvement as its distinctive element full
rights of residents in the
management of public interests and needs or through the attribution of
citizenship with changed rules or in any case allowing the participation
of residents in bodies managing the territory and the public activities
that concern it in order to guarantee a participatory membership in
institutional life.
The Editorial Staff
https://www.ucadi.org/2024/05/22/il-voto-amministrativo-in-un-paese-allo-sbando/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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