ROME, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Populist, anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) was leading the first round of mayoral elections in the Italian capital on Sunday, ahead of ruling Democratic Party (PD), exit polls showed early on Monday.
The M5S candidate, Virginia Raggi, was credited with 37.3 percent of the vote, according to exit polls by Ipr-Piepoli Institute broadcasted by Rai state television.
Center-left PD's contender Roberto Giachetti followed with 22.6 percent, and center-right Giorgia Meloni with 21.8 percent.
Overall, some 13.4 million Italians were eligible to vote to elect new mayors and municipal councils in 1,342 cities and towns across Italy on Sunday. Yet, all eyes were on the country's largest cities, namely Rome, Milan, Turin, Bologna, and Naples.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Monday said he was confident the outcome of Sunday's local elections, which will not have an impact on the October referendum on his government's Constitutional reform to overhaul Italy's political machinery.
"They are two profoundly different matches," Renzi told a news conference. "There was a protest vote today. But I think that (these voters) will not be able to vote anything but yes in the referendum."
Actually, the mayoral race in the Italian capital was seen as particularly relevant, since a victory of opposition M5S here could easily reverberate at national level, and send a blow to Renzi's Democratic Party and his center-left cabinet overall.
M5S Virginia Raggi, a 37-year-old lawyer, had already come out as leading all opinion polls in Rome's campaign, clearly ahead of Roberto Giachetti, a professional politician openly supported by Renzi.
The Five Star Movement capitalized on the growing disaffection Roman citizens showed due to recent corruption scandals, lasting poor administration, and inefficient public services.
A victory in Rome would bolster the ambition of M5S to become Italy' s main opposition force. On the other hand, an overall poor result of PD and its allies in these local polls would be a critical signal for the cabinet, which comes only a few months ahead of a more crucial constitutional reform referendum on which Renzi has bet his political career.
According to the Ipr-Piepoli pollsters, however, the PD candidates were leading the mayoral race in other main cities. In Milan, Italy's main economic hub, Giuseppe Sala was ahead with 42.8 percent of the vote, followed by center-right candidate Stefano Parisi with 37.7 percent.
Center-left incumbent mayor Piero Fassino took the lead in Turin with 40.9 percent, ahead of M5S candidate Chiara Appendino with 36 percent.
In the traditional leftist city of Bologna, central Italy, the exit polls credited PD candidate Virginio Merola with 37.7 percent of the votes against center-right Lucia Borgonzoni with 19.1 percent.
Whereas no mayoral candidate exceeds 50 percent of the votes in this first round, a run off will be held on June 19.
