2025 Marche regional election


The 2025 Marche regional election in Marche, Italy, took place on 28–29 September 2025. The date was announced by Regional President Francesco Acquaroli, who stated the vote would be held in late September.
The contest featured incumbent President Francesco Acquaroli, a senator and former mayor of Potenza Picena, who ran for a second term as the centre-right coalitions alliance "Più Marche", which included Brothers of Italy, Lega, Forza Italia and seven other parties and civic lists. His main opponent was [Matteo Matteo Ricci (politician)|Ricci (politician)|Matteo Ricci] of the Democratic Party, leading the centre-left "Alleanza del Cambiamento", an alliance of 19 parties and civic lists, including the PD, M5S, Italia Viva, PRC, +Europa, Volt and Europa Verde.
Acquaroli was first elected in 2020 with 49.13% of the vote and 20 out of 31 assembly seats, the first centre-right president in Marche's post-war history.

Background

Electoral system

The Region of Marche operates under a standard regional statute. Both the Legislative Assembly and the President of the Region are elected at the same time through a regional election.
The Legislative Assembly is composed of 30 seats, filled using a system of proportional representation with open lists and preferential voting. Voters may express preferences for individual candidates within the lists. The electoral system includes a 5% threshold, which parties must reach in order to gain representation. However, this threshold is lowered to 3% for parties running as part of a coalition. The use of panachage is not permitted.
The region is divided into five provinces, each electing between four and nine councillors depending on population. The assembly members are elected proportionally within these constituencies.
The President of the Region is elected in a single-round, first-past-the-post vote. Each presidential candidate must be affiliated with one of the lists running for the Legislative Assembly, effectively barring independent candidates.
The electoral law includes a majority bonus for the list of the elected president to ensure stable governance:
  • If the president's list receives between 34% and 37% of the vote, it is awarded 16 seats.
  • Between 37% and 40% grants 17 seats.
  • More than 40% awards 18 seats.
After assigning the bonus, the remaining seats are distributed proportionally among the other lists that passed the electoral threshold. Finally, the elected president automatically becomes a member of the Legislative Assembly, increasing the total number of members to 31.
ProvincesSeats
Ancona9
Ascoli Piceno4
Fermo4
Macerata6
Pesaro and Urbino7
President1
Total31

Parties and candidates

Presidential candidate

Other candidates

Campaign

On July 23, 2025, Ricci received a informing him that he was being investigated by the Pesaro prosecutor's office in connection with the "Affidopoli" investigation into alleged irregularities in the public procurement system that occurred during his tenure as mayor of the city.
Ricci denied the accusations, but despite this, the M5S requested clarification, and President Giuseppe Conte declared that he would read the prosecutor's case files against him to decide whether to continue supporting him in the elections. After the reading, the party reiterated its support for the candidate, arguing that there was no reason to do otherwise.
Subsequently, on 4 August 2025, in a centre-right conference held in Ancona during the electoral campaign, it was announced by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that the Marche and Umbria regions would enter the ZES, a project aimed at economic development and which was initially dedicated exclusively to the southern regions, but now also extended to part of central Italy.

Opinion polls

On 26 September 2025, a fabricated opinion poll was circulated in the lead-up to the election, falsely indicating that centre-left candidate Matteo Ricci was leading over incumbent President Francesco Acquaroli. The poll, attributed to the polling institute SWG, was widely shared on social media, including by Democratic Party member, Alessia Morani, who referenced it in her posts. However, SWG publicly denied conducting or releasing the poll, stating it was a fake and reserving the right to take legal action.
Fratelli d'Italia responded by filing a formal complaint with Italy's communications authority, AGCOM, and the Public prosecutor's office in Ancona. Giovanni Donzelli, a prominent member of FdI, condemned the incident, calling it "a deliberate attempt to disseminate fake news during the election period".

Outcome

Results



Analysis

Acquaroli defeated Ricci by 8 points, with greater support in southern Marche and a majority overall in the region, including 7 of the 11 cities with populations over 30,000. Ricci’s support was concentrated in northern Marche, particularly in Ancona and his hometown of Pesaro. South of Ancona, he won in 13 municipalities, including Grottammare and Monteprandone, both with populations over 10,000.
While Ricci was elected as the second-place presidential candidate, he chose not to take his seat and remained in the European Parliament.
ProvinceMatteo RicciFrancesco AcquaroliOthers
ProvinceOthers
Pesaro-Urbino69,005
45.29%		78,226
51.34%		5,124
3.36%
Ancona98,901
49.85%		92,344
46.54%		7,160
3.61%
Macerata51,646
38.72%		77,186
57.86%		4,568
3.42%
Fermo27,575
37.13%		44,943
60.51%		1,750
2.36%
Ascoli Piceno39,082
45.67%		44,980
52.57%		1,506
1.76%

CityMatteo RicciFrancesco AcquaroliOthers
CityOthers
Ancona21,662
53.14%		17,673
43.35%		1,431
3.51%
Pesaro21,774
51.11%		19,143
44.93%		1,686
3.96%
Fano12,729
47.07%		13,547
50.10%		764
2.83%
San Benedetto del Tronto9,178
47.38%		9,822
50.70%		373
1.93%
Ascoli Piceno8,309
40.00%		12,102
58.26%		362
1.74%
Senigallia11,245
54.69%		8,671
42.17%		647
3.15%
Civitanova Marche7,284
41.17%		9,734
55.02%		673
3.80%
Macerata8,343
46.04%		9,129
50.38%		649
3.58%
Jesi9,482
55.29%		6,984
40.72%		684
3.99%
Fermo6,356
30.96%		10,454
60.79%		388
2.26%
Osimo7,077
47.24%		7,476
49.91%		427
2.85%