President Mattarella votes in Italian election

Italian President Sergio Mattarella cast his vote in the Sicilian city of Palermo on Sunday as national parliamentary elections opened during a critical time for Europe. Sunday's ballot might yield the nation's first government led by the far-right since the end of World War II.

Mattarella, as head of state, serves as a guarantor of the republic's post-war Constitution. Opinion polls had indicated Giorgia Meloni and her 'Brothers of Italy' party would be the top vote-getter. If Meloni becomes premier, she will be the first woman in Italy to hold the office. But assembling a viable, ruling coalition could take weeks. Nearly 51 million Italians were eligible to vote.