Right-wing forces are also fighting for third and fourth place.

According to the first exit poll data, the Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d'Italia) led by Giorgia Meloni won the most votes, about 28 percent of all votes, in the two-day European Parliament (EP) election in Italy. The largest left-wing force, the Democratic Party led by Elena Schlein, came in second, with an expected result of between 22 and 24 percent, the Italian news agency ANSA reported on Sunday evening.

According to Italian analysts, a close "battle" is emerging for the third and fourth place between the two right-wing parties, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani's Let's Go Italy (Forza Italia) and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini's League (Lega).

According to exit poll data presented by Italian public television RAI, Forza Italia can expect a result of between 8.5 and 10.5 percent, and Liga between 8 and 10 percent.

Among the expectations was the 5 Star Movement (M5S), which supports the war intervention in Ukraine, which is expected to drop from the 15.43 percent achieved in the 2022 parliamentary election to between 11 and 14 percent. The decline of M5S is even more spectacular compared to the 2019 EP elections, in which the party achieved 17.06 percent.

Among the EU member states, the voting lasted the longest - two days - in Italy, because at the same time as the EP elections, local elections were held in around 3,600 municipalities, and provincial elections were held in Piedmont. The polling stations in Italy closed at 11:00 on Sunday evening.

Híradó.hu

Cover photo: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
MTI/EPA/Olivier Matthys