List of mayors of Matera

The mayor of Matera is an elected politician who, along with the Matera City Council, is accountable for the strategic government of Matera in Basilicata, Italy.

The incumbent mayor is Domenico Bennardi, a member of the Five Star Movement, who took office on 6 October 2020.

Overview
According to the Constitution of Italy, the mayor of Matera is member of the City Council. The mayor is elected by the population of Matera, who also elect the members of the City Council, controlling the mayor's policy guidelines and is able to enforce his resignation by a motion of no confidence. The mayor is entitled to appoint and release the members of his government. Since 1994, the mayor is elected directly by Matera's electorate; in all mayoral elections in Italy in cities with a population higher than 15,000, the voters express a direct choice for the mayor or an indirect choice voting for the party of the candidate's coalition. The election of the City Council is based on a direct choice for the candidate with a preference vote, and the candidate with the majority of the preferences is elected, while the number of the seats for each party is determined proportionally. If no candidate receives at least 50% of votes, the top two candidates go to a second round after two weeks. The incumbent mayor is Domenico Bennardi. A member of the Five Star Movement, Bennardi took office on 6 October 2020.

From 1946 to 1994, the mayor of Matera, which was elected by the City Council, was always a member of Christian Democracy, the ruling party of post-war Italy, with the exception of Alfonso Pontradolfi of the Italian Socialist Party from 1984 to 1986. From 1957 to 1960 and from 1968 to 1970, there was a Special Prefectural Commissioner tenure. In the 1994 Italian local elections, Mario Manfredi of the centre-left coalition. From 1995 to 2007, Matera was led by a red–red–green coalition, plus Christian democrats. In the 2007 Italian local elections, Emilio Nicola Bucicco of National Alliance, supported by the cnetre-right coalition, became the first right-wing mayor of Matera. He resigned in 2009, and the city was taken over by a Special Prefectural Commissioner until the 2010 Italian local elections returned the centre-left coalition to power. For the 2015 Italian local elections, the centre-right coalition selected Raffaello De Ruggieri as an independent candidate. He won in an upset and took office on 12 June 2015. After initially being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, the 2020 Italian local elections saw the win of the Five Star Movement candidate, who took office on 6 October 2020, following his win in the runoff. The centre-left coalition did not make it to runoff, which was between the Five Star Movement and the centre-right coalition.

City Council election (1946–1994)
From 1946 to 1994, the mayor of Matera was elected by the city's council.

Direct election (since 1994)
Since 1994, under provisions of new local administration law, the mayor of Matera is chosen by direct election, originally every four, then every five years.
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