ITALIANS VOTING QUIETLY

Chronicle (Levin), 19 April 1948, Page 5

ITALIANS VOTING QUIETLY

( N.Z.P.A. -

—Reuter.

Polling Irregularities Found In Vital Elections

CoDuriafit)

Reeeived Monday, 10.25 a.m. ROME, April 18. Although voting in Italy's vital elections "opened quietly and no disorders were reported today, the Minister of the Interior announced that officials founds "irregularities" during polling, and warned the heads of polling- booths to watch voting t'brms for traees of writing and other signs that they had been tampered with.

Anti-Communists showed correspondents aluminium rings, with graphite points, which they claimed had been issued to Popular Front scrutineers. They alleged j the scrutineers could invalidate ! voting papers by drawing lines : across them with the rings. j Popular Front headquarters ac-; cused Right-wing elements of elec-i tion plots and said that voting! papers had been found markedt with a Christian Democrat symboli before voting started in one area. ; Polling officials were ordered to i give the ballot papers'open and notj folded. - . j Communists said that the local authorities in Udine had listed 300 names from Trieste who were in-j eligible. Right-wingers made simi- ! lar counter-charges against the Popular Front. Strict checking of identities slowed up voting and caused queueing. Communists in Milan protested against police patrols, armoured cars and troops touring villages. They said: "Reactionaries are trying to intimidate us." Voting passed without incident, and the 330,000 soldiers, police and finance guards were not needed.