Sergio Mattarella is the president of Italy again

President Sergio Mattarella was re-elected to this post in the 8th round of voting in the Italian presidential election.

The 8th round of voting was held this evening in the 1009-member electoral assembly, which convened with the participation of 315 senators from the upper wing of the parliament, members of the Senate of the Republic and 6 life-long senators, 630 deputies from the lower wing of the House of Representatives and 58 representatives from 20 administrative regions to elect the president.

Parties that could not agree on another name since January 24, when the presidential election started, applied to Mattarella to nominate him again before the 8th round of voting.

Accepting this demand of the parties, 80-year-old Mattarella was elected as the president once again by receiving the votes of 759 of the 983 electoral delegates who participated in the voting.

Mattarella will swear on February 3

The fact that Mattarella received the absolute majority of the 505 votes required to be elected in the Grand Electoral House was met with applause in the General Assembly hall.

Thus, Mattarella became "the second person elected to this post for a second term," after Giorgio Napolitano, among the 12 presidents who have served in the republic-ruled country since 1946.

Mattarella is expected to be sworn in on February 3 to begin his second 7-year term as president.

"I respect the choice of the parliament"

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi congratulated him, stating that the re-election of President Mattarella is "great news for Italians".

Enrico Letta, leader of the Democratic Party (PD), one of the parties that supported Mattarella's election for the second term, expressed his gratitude by expressing that the president's re-acceptance of the candidacy was a generous step.

There were comments in the Italian press that the re-election of President Mattarella and the continuation of the prime ministership of Draghi, who is frequently mentioned in this position, were seen as "the continuation of stability in Italy" in European capitals.

Sergio Mattarella

Sergio Mattarella, who was first elected to the Presidency in 2015, was born in Palermo in 1941.

After studying law, Mattarella was thrown into political life from this wing, due to his family tradition being Christian Democrats.

During the 1983–2008 period, he served as a member of parliament for the center-left party of the Christian Democrats.

Mattarella served as Minister of Relations with Parliament in 1987-1989, Minister of Education in 1989-1990, Deputy Prime Minister in 1998-1999, and Minister of Defense in 1999-2001.

Mattarella, who served as a judge of the Constitutional Court between 2011 and 2015, has been sitting in the presidency since February 3, 2015.