Some 1.5 million people registered to vote in a primary election held Sunday to select the new leader of Italy's centre-left coalition. The winner is expected to lead the coalition in national elections likely to take place in March, according to a report of DPA. While five candidates are vying for the post, only two have a realistic chance of winning. They are Pierluigi Bersani, an experienced former government minister and current leader of the country's largest left-wing party, the Democratic Party, and Matteo Renzi, the young mayor of Florence who portrays himself as a modernizer. If no candidate obtains an absolute majority, a second round is to be held on December 2. Any registered voter who supports the centre-left can take part in the primary, with nearly 10,000 polling stations set up across the country. Italians living in 19 countries abroad can also take part. Voting was to end at 8 pm (1900 GMT). The centre-right coalition of Italy's former premier, Silvio Berlusconi, has not yet set a date for its own primary.
