Elections in Sardinia, the mess of “tagliola after 12 o'clock”. The Region: “All-round votes”

The counting of ballots for the regional elections in Sardinia is progressing slowly. The first official results were in fact published after 10:30 a.m., despite the start of counting operations set for 7 a.m. this morning. Members of the 1844 sections would no longer be obliged, as well Open had previously reported, to complete the counting operations within 12 hours, until 7 p.m. today. The Sardinia Region specified in a note that it would continue until the end. “The final deadline set within 12 hours of their start must be considered purely indicative,” we also read in the circular of February 23. In 2019, operations ended after 7 p.m. and it took almost a month for the official proclamation from the president and advisors. The ballot papers not yet examined were sealed and it was necessary to wait for a new appearance before the Court of Appeal. “Except in cases of force majeure, sectional electoral offices are required to carry out all operations falling within their competence,” explains the Region.

In 2019, delays and failures at the polls

Although Christian Solinas' victory in the 2019 regional elections was announced immediately, its official proclamation – and the 60 elected regional councilors – took around a month. An infinite wait due to the impossibility in many polling stations to complete the count within the time required by law. On this occasion, the ballot boxes were sealed and the electoral offices of the respective constituencies were filled for the counting of the ballots and the transmission of the minutes to the Court of Appeal of Cagliari. The president at the time announced the final results on March 20: Christian Solinas won with 47.79% ahead of Massimo Zedda who remained at 33%. In 2019, there was also another obstacle: the chaos of leaving the polls of Rai. Broadcast on Sunday at 10 p.m., when polling stations closed, the polls indicated a head-to-head matchup between Solinas and Zedda, but the next day the picture turned out to be completely opposite. The failure of the polls has become a national case with a demand for an official explanation from the top management of the Rai to opinion polling institutes. This year, no national newspaper ventured into exit polls.

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