Chieti, by-elections: who are the candidates for the Chamber of Deputies

Who are the four candidates

To replace Bagnai, four suitors have presented their candidacy. For the centre-right coalition there is Mario Colantonio, 61 years old, group leader in the Chieti municipal council of the League and technical official of the Province of Chieti.

The wide field fields the 66-year-old Luciano D'Amico, former rector of the University of Teramo and currently regional councilor of Abruzzo: he was the challenger of the current president of the Abruzzo Region Marco Marsilio in the 2024 Regionals.

Also in the running is Massimo Pasqualone, 54 years old, regional coordinator of Dimensione Bandeccchi: he is a university professor, art and literary critic.

Danilo Ranieri of Italia Domani, a movement headed by the national leader Marco Rizzo, also ran: 54 years old, lawyer, he is currently deputy mayor and councilor of the Municipality of Lanciano.

At first it seemed there might also be a fifth name in the running, but in the end Futuro Nazionale did not present its candidacy: a renunciation that some observers read as proof of a thaw between Roberto Vannacci and the centre-right, in particular with the government led by Giorgia Meloni. Therefore, when the deadline for submitting names to the Court of Appeal of L'Aquila expired, there were four official suitors. The winner, however, could remain in office for only a few months, that is, until the next political elections.

The by-elections of 15 and 16 November were called to fill the seat in the Chamber left vacant after the Northern League member Alberto Bagnai was appointed member of the Competition and Market Authority on 4 August. Bagnai then officially took office in the AGCM College on 22 September 2026. A few days later, the decree arrived "calling the electoral rallies for the by-election of the Chamber of Deputies in the single-member constituency 01 - Chieti of the XVII constituency of Abruzzo, for the days of Sunday 15 and Monday 16 November 2026".

The electors and voters of 104 municipalities in the province of Chieti are called to vote. The polling stations will be open on Sunday 15 November from 7am to 11pm and Monday 16 November from 7am to 3pm. To vote, after presenting your electoral card and a valid identity document, simply make a mark on the symbol of the chosen candidate or in any case inside the box containing the name. On the pink ballot, there are the names of the four candidates: Massimo Pasqualone (Dimensione Bandecchi), Luciano D'Amico (centre-left), Mario Colantonio (centre-right), Danilo Ranieri (Italia Domani). The order was decided based on the draw.