2025 Marche regional election
Regional election in Italy
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The 2025 Marche regional election in Marche, Italy, took place on 28–29 September 2025.[2] The date was announced by Regional President Francesco Acquaroli, who stated the vote would be held in late September.[3]
9.74%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
28–29 September 2025
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All 31 seats to the Legislative Assembly of Marche | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Opinion polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Registered | 1,325,689[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 50.01% (9.74%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Map of the election result | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The contest featured incumbent President Francesco Acquaroli, a senator and former mayor of Potenza Picena, who ran for a second term as the centre-right coalitions alliance "Più Marche", which included Brothers of Italy (FdI), Lega, Forza Italia and seven other parties and civic lists.[4] His main opponent was Matteo Ricci of the Democratic Party (PD), leading the centre-left "Alleanza del Cambiamento", an alliance of 19 parties and civic lists, including the PD, M5S, Italia Viva, PRC, +Europa, Volt and Europa Verde.[5]
Acquaroli was first elected in 2020 with 49.13% of the vote and 20 out of 31 assembly seats, the first centre-right president in Marche's post-war history.[6]
Background
Electoral system
The Region of Marche operates under a standard regional statute. Both the Legislative Assembly and the President of the Region are elected at the same time through a regional election.
The Legislative Assembly is composed of 30 seats, filled using a system of proportional representation with open lists and preferential voting. Voters may express preferences for individual candidates within the lists. The electoral system includes a 5% threshold, which parties must reach in order to gain representation. However, this threshold is lowered to 3% for parties running as part of a coalition. The use of panachage (voting across multiple lists) is not permitted.
The region is divided into five provinces, each electing between four and nine councillors depending on population. The assembly members are elected proportionally within these constituencies.
The President of the Region is elected in a single-round, first-past-the-post vote. Each presidential candidate must be affiliated with one of the lists running for the Legislative Assembly, effectively barring independent candidates.
The electoral law includes a majority bonus for the list of the elected president to ensure stable governance:
- If the president's list receives between 34% and 37% of the vote, it is awarded 16 seats.
- Between 37% and 40% grants 17 seats.
- More than 40% awards 18 seats.
After assigning the bonus, the remaining seats are distributed proportionally among the other lists that passed the electoral threshold. Finally, the elected president automatically becomes a member of the Legislative Assembly, increasing the total number of members to 31.
| Provinces | Seats |  |
|---|---|---|
| Ancona | 9 | |
| Ascoli Piceno | 4 | |
| Fermo | 4 | |
| Macerata | 6 | |
| Pesaro and Urbino | 7 | |
| President | 1 | |
| Total | 31 |
Parties and candidates
Presidential candidate
| Candidate | Experience | Campaign | Alliance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Francesco Acquaroli |
President of Marche (2020–present) Member of the Chamber of Deputies for Marche (2018–2020) Mayor of Potenza Picena (2014-2018) |
 14 June 2025 Website |
Centre-right coalition (More Marche) | |
.jpg) Matteo Ricci |
MEP for Central Italy (2024–present) Mayor of Pesaro (2014–2024) President of the Province of Pesaro and Urbino (2009–2014) |
 12 June 2025 Website |
Centre-left coalition (Alliance of Change) | |
Alleanza del Cambiamento
Più Marche
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Other candidates
- Claudio Bolletta, supported by Sovereign Popular Democracy.[9]
- Francesco Gerardi, supported by the Forza del Popolo list.[9]
- Lidia Mangani, municipal councilor of Ancona supported by the Italian Communist Party.[9]
- Beatrice Marinelli, supported by the Evolution of the Revolution list.[10]
Regional Councilor candidates
Campaign
On July 23, 2025, Ricci received a notice of investigation informing him that he was being investigated by the Pesaro prosecutor's office in connection with the "Affidopoli" investigation into alleged irregularities in the public procurement system that occurred during his tenure as mayor of the city.
Ricci denied the accusations, but despite this, the M5S requested clarification, and President Giuseppe Conte declared that he would read the prosecutor's case files against him to decide whether to continue supporting him in the elections. After the reading, the party reiterated its support for the candidate, arguing that there was no reason to do otherwise.
Subsequently, on 4 August 2025, in a centre-right conference held in Ancona during the electoral campaign, it was announced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that the Marche and Umbria regions would enter the ZES, a project aimed at economic development and which was initially dedicated exclusively to the southern regions, but now also extended to part of central Italy.
Debates
| Date | Location | Organizer | Link | Participants | Source | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acquaroli | Ricci | Bolletta | Gerardi | Mangani | Marinelli | |||||
| 28 August 2025 | Ancona | Uil Marche | Video | PI | PI | NI | NI | NI | NI | [11] |
| 12 September 2025 | TGR Marche | Video | PI | PI | PI | PI | PI | PI | [12] | |
| 25 September 2025 | Rome | Sky TG24 | Video | PI | PI | NI | NI | NI | NI | [13] |
| PI Present Invited NI Not Invited | ||||||||||
Opinion polls
On 26 September 2025, a fabricated opinion poll was circulated in the lead-up to the election, falsely indicating that centre-left candidate Matteo Ricci was leading over incumbent President Francesco Acquaroli.[14] The poll, attributed to the polling institute SWG, was widely shared on social media, including by Democratic Party member, Alessia Morani, who referenced it in her posts.[15] However, SWG publicly denied conducting or releasing the poll, stating it was a fake and reserving the right to take legal action.[16]
Fratelli d'Italia responded by filing a formal complaint with Italy's communications authority, AGCOM, and the Public prosecutor's office in Ancona.[17] Giovanni Donzelli, a prominent member of FdI, condemned the incident, calling it "a deliberate attempt to disseminate fake news during the election period".[18]
Pollings
| Date | Polling firm/ Client |
Sample size | Acquaroli | Ricci | Marinelli | Mangani | Bolletta | Gerardi | Others | Lead | Abstention | Margin of error | Total contacts | Refusals | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9–11 September 2025 | Tecnè srl – BiDimedia | 800 | 51.0 | 45.5 | – | 3.5 | 5.5 | 10 | ±3.5 | 5281 | 4281 (84.9%) | CAWI – CATI | |||
| 9–11 September 2025 | IPSOS – Corriere della Sera | 800 | 50.1 | 44.8 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.9 | – | 5.3 | 15 | – | 4249 | – | CAWI – CATI – CAMI |
| 26–29 August 2025 | BiDiMedia / Citynews – AnconaToday | 1,000 | 49.6 | 47.5 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.3 | – | 2.1 | 42 – 47 | ±3.1 | 1856 | – | CAWI – Panel |
| 11–12 July 2025 | IZI S.p.A. | 1,000 | 49.5 | 50.5 | – | 1.0 | 36.3 – 36.6 | ±3.0 | – | CAMI–CAWI | |||||
| 16–17 Jun 2025 | Tecnè / Dire | 1,009 | 50.5–54.5 | 45.5–49.5 | – | 5.0 | 46 | ±3. | 6,343 | 5,334 (84.1) | CATI–CAWI | ||||
| 10-17 April 2025 | Tecnè / Corriere Adriatico | 1,500 | 52.0–55.0 | 48.0 | – | 4.0–7.0 | 49 | – | CATI-CAWI | ||||||
Political parties
| Date | Polling firm/ Client |
Sample size | CDX | CSX | Others | Lead | Abstention | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FdI | Lega | FI | MpA | Civici-McA | Civici-UdC | NM | PD | M5S | AVS | MRP | AcR | PSL (PRC-DdN) |
PMMR | ||||||
| 9–11 September 2025 | IPSOS – Corriere della Sera | 800 | 25 | 5.9 | 7.3 | 4.8 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.7 | 21.6 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 4 | 2.3 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 5.1 | 4.9 CDX | 15 |
| 26–29 Aug 2025 | BiDiMedia / Citynews – AnconaToday | 1,856 | 26.1 | 7.7 | 6.4 | 4.1 | 2.9 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 25.2 | 6.1 | 5.6 | 4.3 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 3.9%[g] | 2.9 CDX | 20 |
| 16–17 Jun 2025 | Tecnè / agenzia DIRE | 1,009 | 29.8 | 8.5 | 11 | - | 21.8 | 11.8 | 6.2 | - | 2.2 | 4.9[h] | 9.5 CDX | 46 | |||||
Outcome
Results
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| Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | Parties | Votes | % | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francesco Acquaroli | 337,679 | 52.43 | 1 | Brothers of Italy | 155,540 | 27.41 | 10 | |||
| Forza Italia | 48,823 | 8.60 | 3 | |||||||
| Lega Marche | 41,805 | 7.37 | 3 | |||||||
| Marchigiani for Acquaroli President | 24,104 | 4.25 | 1 | |||||||
| Civics for Acquaroli President | 14,680 | 2.59 | 1 | |||||||
| Union of the Centre | 10,853 | 1.91 | 1 | |||||||
| Us Moderates | 9,299 | 1.64 | – | |||||||
| Total | 305,104 | 53.77 | 19 | |||||||
| Matteo Ricci | 286,209 | 44.44 | 1 (0)[i] | Democratic Party | 127,638 | 22.50 | 6 | |||
| Civic List Ricci for President | 41,650 | 7.34 | 2 | |||||||
| Five Star Movement | 28,836 | 5.08 | 1 | |||||||
| Greens and Left Alliance | 23,565 | 4.15 | 1 | |||||||
| Marche Alive Project | 10,872 | 1.92 | – (1)[j] | |||||||
| Civic Project Forward with Ricci | 8,100 | 1.43 | – | |||||||
| Peace Health Work | 6,392 | 1.13 | – | |||||||
| Total | 247,053 | 43.54 | 10 (11)[k] | |||||||
| Beatrice Marinelli | 6,302 | 0.98 | – | Evolution of the Revolution | 4,867 | 0.86 | – | |||
| Lidia Mangani | 5,039 | 0.78 | – | Italian Communist Party | 3,388 | 0.60 | – | |||
| Claudio Bolletta | 4,851 | 0.75 | – | Sovereign Popular Democracy | 3,953 | 0.70 | – | |||
| Francesco Gerardi | 3,916 | 0.61 | – | Force of the People | 3,037 | 0.54 | – | |||
| Blank and invalid votes | – | – | ||||||||
| Total candidates | 643,996 | 100.00 | 2 (1) [l] | Total parties | 567,402 | 100.00 | 29 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | – | 50.01 | ||||||||
| Source: Marche Region – Results | ||||||||||
Turnout
| Voter turnout[19] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Sunday, September 28 | Monday, September 29 | Previous Election | ||||
| 12:00 PM | 19:00 PM | 23:00 PM | 15:00 PM | ||||
| Ancona | 9.60% | 30.08% | 37.72% | 50.41% | 60.50% | 10.11% | |
| Ascoli Piceno | 10.33% | 29.09% | 36.26% | 48.97% | 57.70% | 8.70% | |
| Fermo | 10.90% | 30.64% | 38.37% | 51.22% | 61.20% | 9.95% | |
| Macerata | 10.15% | 28.28% | 35.82% | 47.02% | 56.60% | 9.58% | |
| Pesaro-Urbino | 12.35% | 32.84% | 40.07% | 52.38% | 62.30% | 9.89% | |
 Total | 10.59% | 30.23% | 37.71% | 50.01% | 59.75% | 9.74% | |
Analysis
Acquaroli defeated Ricci by 8 points, with greater support in southern Marche and a majority overall in the region, including 7 of the 11 cities with populations over 30,000. Ricci’s support was concentrated in northern Marche, particularly in Ancona and his hometown of Pesaro. South of Ancona, he won in 13 municipalities, including Grottammare and Monteprandone, both with populations over 10,000.[20]
While Ricci was elected as the second-place presidential candidate, he chose not to take his seat and remained in the European Parliament.[21]
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Elected councilors
| Party / List | Councilor elected | Preference votes | Constituency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brothers of Italy | Francesco Acquaroli | President-Elect | ||
| Francesco Baldelli | 6,447 | Pesaro and Urbino | ||
| Nicola Barbieri | 4,412 | Pesaro and Urbino | ||
| Marco Ausili | 4,235 | Ancona | ||
| Giacomo Bugaro | 4,073 | Ancona | ||
| Corrado Canafoglia | 3,396 | Ancona | ||
| Silvia Luconi | 3,953 | Macerata | ||
| Pierpaolo Borroni | 3,834 | Macerata | ||
| Andrea Putzu | 6,005 | Fermo | ||
| Francesca Pantaloni | 8,407 | Ascoli Piceno | ||
| Andrea Cardilli | 7,358 | Ascoli Piceno | ||
| Forza Italia | Tiziano Consoli | 2,200 | Ancona | |
| Gianluca Pasqui | 4,043 | Macerata | ||
| Jessica Marcozzi | 1,818 | Fermo | ||
| Lega | Enrico Rossi | 3,436 | Pesaro and Urbino | |
| Renzo Marinelli | 2,847 | Macerata | ||
| Andrea Maria Antonini | 2,822 | Ascoli Piceno | ||
| Marchigiani for Acquaroli President | Paolo Calcinaro | 9,311 | Fermo | |
| Civics Marche | Giacomo Rossi | 2,604 | Pesaro and Urbino | |
| Union of the Centre | Luca Marconi | 1,067 | Macerata | |
| Democratic Party | Matteo Ricci | Elected as the second-place presidential candidate, but chose not to take his seat | ||
| Micaela Vitri | 6,337 | Pesaro and Urbino | ||
| Valeria Mancinelli | 8,050 | Ancona | ||
| Maurizio Mangialardi | 4,078 | Ancona | ||
| Leonardo Catena | 3,996 | Macerata | ||
| Fabrizio Cesetti | 4,141 | Fermo | ||
| Enrico Piergallini | 6,560 | Ascoli Piceno | ||
| Civic List Ricci for President | Massimo Seri | 1,501 | Pesaro and Urbino | |
| Antonio Mastrovincenzo | 2,051 | Ancona | ||
| Five Star Movement | Marta Carmela Raimonda Ruggeri | 2,630 | Pesaro and Urbino | |
| Greens and Left Alliance | Andrea Nobili | 1,961 | Ancona | |
| Marche Alive Project | Michele Caporossi[m] | 1,577 | Ancona | |
See also
Notes
- Ricci also received support from Italy in Common
- In the 2020 regional election, Green Europe ran together with More Europe and civic candidates on the "Rebirth Marche" list, which received 2.77% of the vote. Meanwhile, Italian Left participated as part of the left-wing "Depend on Us" list, which gained 1.90%.
- In the 2020 regional election, Italia Viva's expanded list also included the Italian Socialist Party, Solidary Democracy, and civic candidates.
- in 2020 the "Mangialardi for President" list get 2.07%
- In the 2020 regional election, More Europe and Marche Civics ran together with Green Europe on the "Rebirth Marche" list, which received 2.77% of the vote. Meanwhile, the Italian Socialist Party ran alongside Italia Viva and Solidary Democracy, earning 3.17%.
- In the 2020 regional election, the "Depend on Us" list also included Italian Left.
- Democrazia Sovrana Popolare 1.2%
- Partito Comunista Italiano 1.0%
- Evoluzione della Rivoluzione 0.4%
- Forza del Popolo 0.3%
- Ricci chose not to take his seat
- Gained a seat after Matteo Ricci chose not to take his seat
- Gained a seat after Matteo Ricci chose not to take his seat
- Ricci chose not to take his seat
- Gained a seat after Matteo Ricci chose not to take his seat