ROME (Reuters) – The candidate backed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing allies is seen just ahead of his centre-left rival in a regional vote in the northwestern region of Liguria, exit polls showed on Monday.
A victory would give Meloni a boost ahead of two other regional votes to be held next month in Umbria and Emilia- Romagna, in an election called after a graft probe which caused the resignation of former centre-right governor Giovanni Toti.
Marco Bucci, the mayor of the regional capital Genoa, is seen winning between 47% and 51% of the vote while his leftist opponent Andrea Orlando is set for between 45.5% and 49.5%, exit polls by state TV Rai showed.
Former Liguria president Toti resigned in July after being arrested two months earlier on charges of receiving money to favour a businessman.
Toti denied wrongdoing but agreed a plea bargain deal to end the corruption case against him. Under Italian law, plea bargaining is not an admission of guilt but is subject to approval by a pre-trial judge.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Keith Weir)
