Overview

• Polls open Sunday 7 a.m.–11 p.m. and Monday 7 a.m.–3 p.m.; Calabria bars split-ticket voting and permits up to two gender-balanced preferences on list ballots.
• Participation is the wild card, with warnings turnout could slip under 40% after 44.3% in 2021 and with many registered residents living outside the region.
• National leaders closed the campaign: Giuseppe Conte was on stage with Pasquale Tridico, Elly Schlein joined by video, Matteo Salvini rallied in Reggio on the Strait bridge as protesters jeered, and FdI sent Arianna Meloni to Catanzaro.
• The snap election follows Roberto Occhiuto’s July resignation after being placed under investigation for corruption, and he is seeking a new mandate leading a broad center-right coalition.
• The field features Occhiuto versus Tridico with Francesco Toscano as an outsider, and core clashes focus on jobs, health care and the Strait bridge, with pledges including a student merit income and a 500-euro dignity income.