Civic neck-and-neck race in the Ticino Council of States elections
Published: Monday, Nov 13th 2023, 09:40
Updated At: Tuesday, Nov 14th 2023, 00:53
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After a very good first round of voting, Marco Chiesa (SVP), the only incumbent member of the Council of States from Ticino, appears to be a shoo-in for the small chamber. Fabio Regazzi (center) and Alex Farinelli (FDP) are likely to go head-to-head in the battle for the second seat. The left is hoping for a surprise victory for the Green Party's Greta Gysin in the second round of voting for the Council of States in Ticino next Sunday.
SVP President Chiesa was over 10,000 votes ahead of second-placed Fabio Regazzi (center) after the first round of voting. The gap to third-placed Alex Farinelli (FDP) was significantly smaller: the two middle-class candidates were separated by just 1,500 votes after the first round of voting.
The SP lost its seat in the Council of States. The left-wing party held Ticino's second seat in the Stöckli until last April. However, this seat has been vacant since the election of former Councillor of States Marina Carobbio to the Ticino government.
National Councillor Bruno Storni, who should have defended Carobbio's seat, withdrew after a poor result in the first round of voting in favor of the Green Party's Greta Gysin. It is unlikely that Gysin, who has been a member of the National Council since 2019, will be able to outperform the two conservative candidates and retain the left-wing seat.
Making up for the disgrace of 2019
Both the FPD and the centrist party want to return to the small chamber, as they both have a score to settle with the conservative parties SVP and SP. The latter surprisingly ousted the two centrist parties from the Council of States in 2019: Filippo Lombardi (center) was outvoted by Marina Carobbio by just 46 votes after 20 years in the upper chamber, and the FDP Ticino was unable to defend the seat of Fabio Abate, who stepped down, and was kicked out of the small chamber for the first time in 126 years.
In addition to the four candidates from the traditional parties, a representative of a new political movement in Ticino is also standing in the second round of the Council of States elections: Amalia Mirante from "Avanti con Ticino & Lavoro" is once again entering the race for a seat in the small chamber. The economist and former SP politician came sixth in the first round of voting behind Bruno Storni with 13,760 votes.
©Keystone/SDA
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