A center-left candidate appears to have won Sardinia's presidential election, according to partial results released on Tuesday. This would be Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's first regional election loss since seizing office in 2022.
Alessandra Todde, a supporter of the Democratic Party (PD) and a member of the left-leaning 5-Star Movement, has 45.3% of the vote, with nearly all of the ballots counted. That defeated 45.0% for Paolo Truzzu, a right-wing candidate personally chosen by Meloni.
Pollsters and publications predicted the outcome for Todde despite the slim margin and incomplete count. She celebrated her win with former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, leader of the 5-Star party, and Elly Schlein, leader of the major opposition party, the center-left PD.
Todde will become both the island's first female president and the first president from the 5-Star Movement.
A confirmed win would be a first for the center-left in terms of region flipping since 2015, and it would be an impetus for opposition parties after years of electoral losses.
Speaking to reporters in Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, Todde expressed her happiness and pride, saying that Sardinia was writing a new chapter in its history.
The vote occurred on Sunday, but the counting process only began on Monday morning and took an exceptionally long time. Regional authorities waived a 12-hour deadline for the procedure to be finished.
Meloni's bloc, which also included her Brothers of Italy party, Forza Italia, and the League, won all four of the regional elections that were held in 2023. Up until Sunday, 14 of the 20 Italy's regions were under the control of the bloc. According to polls, the rightist coalition continues to hold the top spot nationally.
Schlein, the leader of the PD, and Conte have overcome their numerous disagreements and formed a unified front for the election. Their triumph in their region will require them to collaborate more if they hope to surpass the right on a national level.
Sardinia is home to about 1.44 million adult residents and is one of the two main islands in Italy. An estimated 52.4% of people turned out.
Former industry undersecretary Todde will take over for Christian Solinas, who decided not to seek reelection because of his poor approval rating.
Next up for Italy's political landscape are elections to the Abruzzo region on March 10, where 5-Star and the PD have teamed up once again, and the June European Parliament elections.
National opinion surveys show that Meloni's Brothers of Italy holds the advantage with approximately 28% of the vote, followed by the PD with roughly 20% and 5-Star with 16%.