Voting has begun in Italy in a snap ballot to elect a new parliament. The country may see its first far-right leader since World War II.

Voters turn out in Rome

DW correspondent Giulia Saudelli said that the number of voters showing up to vote at a polling station in central Rome had "picked up mid-morning."

"We're told numbers are pretty good for a Sunday morning," she added in a tweet. "Heavy rain was expected but instead the sun is shining."

First party leaders cast their votes

Leaders of several major Italian parties have already voted this morning.

Enrico Letta of the center-left Democratic Party (PD) voted at a polling station in Rome, while the head of the right-wing, anti-migrant League, Matteo Salvini, voted in Milan.

Salvini is running along with the far-right Brothers of Italy (FdI) leader Giorgia Meloni and Forza Italia's Silvio Berlusconi in a right-wing coalition.

He has seen his previous popularity eclipsed by the rising star of the far right, who is expected to win more seats. Asked if he considered coming in just fourth place as a defeat, he said "I'm playing to win, not to participate," ANSA reported.

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has also voted in Florence. A one-time time leader of the PD, Renzi split from the party and founded Italia Viva, which is running as part of the Azione-Italia Viva centrist coalition.

Who can vote in the election?

Just under 50 million people have been called to cast their votes, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.

Of those, more than 4.7 million are voting from abroad — more than half, 2.6 million, are voting from other European countries.

Some 2.7 million people can vote for the first time. The voting age in Italy is 18.

There are just over 61,500 polling stations around the country that will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with the first exit polls expected as soon as they close.

Turnout is expected to hit a new record low this year, falling even lower than the previous record of 72.9% in 2018.

President casts his vote

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has voted in his hometown of Palermo on the island of Sicily.

He turned up at his polling station, a local school, not long after the polls opened.

The presidency is not up for grabs in Sunday's vote as it is decided in a separate,

Polls open

Italians began casting their votes on Sunday in what is being dubbed a crucial election.

People aged 18 and above are voting for lawmakers in both the lower house Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, the upper house of parliament.

Balloting began at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and will run until 11 p.m., with the exit polls being released when voting ends.

But it may take hours before a precise seat count is available due to complex calculations required by a hybrid proportional/first-past-the-post electoral law.

The snap general election was triggered by outgoing Prime Minister Mario Draghi's resignation in July when the populist 5-Star Movement  — one of the several parties in Draghi's marquee coalition, which included leftists, right-wing and centrist parties —  decided to withdraw its support for the prime minister's economic aid decree.

Draghi, who was chosen by the president to form a government after the previous 5-Star-led government bundled, has said that he will not contest again.

The key election also comes at a time when Europe is reeling from the effects of Russia's war in Ukraine. 

The vote could see a return to Italy's most right-wing government since World War II — bringing euroskeptic populists to the heart of Europe.

Who are the candidates?

There are five main candidates — including three former heads of government and two far-right leaders — vying for power in the elections.

A right-wing alliance led by Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party appears to be leading in as per the opinion polls and looks set to take office in a coalition with the far-right League and Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia parties.

Meloni —  who has previously expressed admiration for former Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini   — could become Italy's first female prime minister.

The frontrunner for the center-left alliance is the Democratic Party led by Enrico Letta.

There are speculations that support for the 5-Star Movement has gained some momentum in the last few days. A late surge by the left-leaning party could put the rightist alliance's chances of clinching a majority in the Senate in jeopardy, making the process of forming a government more complex.

How would a potential Meloni government handle the EU? 

If Meloni's Brothers of Italy party manages to become the strongest force in the center-right populist coalition governing Italy, it could impact Rome's relationship with the EU.

How would a potential Meloni government negotiate Italy's position in Brussels? DW's Bernd Riegert spoke to political experts regarding Meloni's stances on foreign policy and European integration. 

ab, dvv/wd (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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complicated system involving lawmakers and regional representatives.

Mattarella won his second term in January.