Centre-left candidates were poised for victory in several of the big cities up for grabs in an important round of local elections in Italy, according to exit polls on Monday.
The centre-left was above the 50% threshold in Milan, Bologna and Naples, meaning they would previous in these cities without the need for a run off.
Centre-left Turin mayoral candidate Stefano Lo Russo, meanwhile, leads centre-right candidate Paolo Damilano by 44-48% to 36.5-40.5% in the first RAI exit poll by Opinio Italia with 5-Star (M5S) candidate Valentina Sganga on 7-9% and independent Angelo D'Orsi on 1.5-3.5%.
In Rome, centre-right candidate Enrico Michetti was slightly ahead of centre-left rival Roberto Gualtieri in the first RAI exit poll at 27-31% against 26.5-30.5%, with independent centre-left candidate Carlo Calenda and incumbent anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) candidate Virginia Raggi both on 16.5-20.5%.
The race there looks set to go to a runoff.
Roberto Dipiazza, the centre-right candidate to be Trieste's mayor, is close to the 50% threshold needed win in the first round without a runoff, according to a Consorzio Opinio Italia exit poll.
The poll gives Dipiazza 46-50% of the vote, followed by the centre-left candidate Francesco Russo on 29-33%.
Centre-left incumbent Giuseppe Sala is projected to retain the Milan mayor's post in the first exit poll for RAI by Opinio Italia with 54-58% of the vote compared to 32-36% for the centre right's Luca Bernardo, followed by the 5-Star Movement (M5S)'s Layla Pavone and independent Gianluigi Paragone both on 2-4%.
Gaetano Manfredi, the candidate to be the next mayor of Naples supported by the centre left and the 5-Star Movement (M5S), has 57-61% of the vote, compared to 19-23% for the centre right's Catello Maresca and 9-13% for former mayor and former Campania governor Antonio Bassolino, according to a poll.
Centre-left candidate Matteo Lepore is on 61-65% of the vote in Bologna, compared to centre-right candidate Fabio Battistini on 26-5-30.5%.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
