There was no winner in the second round of voting of the presidential election in Italy on Tuesday, with the lawmakers of the major governing parties again submitting blank ballots.
Just like in the first day of voting on Monday, no one achieved the two-thirds of the votes from 1,009 electors that is required to elect a successor for Sergio Mattarella. The centre-left and centre-right parties have not agreed on a joint candidate.
Similar results are expected in the third round on Wednesday. Only after the fourth round of voting, scheduled for Thursday, will an absolute majority be enough to win.
After the withdrawal of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from the race for the highest office in the state, negotiations between party leaders for a possible candidate intensified.
There are traditionally no official candidates in the race, but the current prime minister, Mario Draghi, has long been considered the favourite for the role.
Given he cannot hold both positions, negotiations have been ongoing for weeks in Rome about how to proceed with his government, in which almost all the major parties in parliament are represented.
