[6] The election process extended over multiple days,[7][8][9] culminating in incumbent president Sergio Mattarella being confirmed for a second term,[10][11][12] with a total of 759 votes on the eighth ballot.

As a result of the ensuing government formation talks, the Five Star Movement (M5S) and the League (Lega) formed a new cabinet led Giuseppe Conte, a law professor close to the M5S.

[34][35] Many political analysts believed that the no confidence motion was an attempt to force early elections and to improve Lega's standing in the parliament, so that Salvini could become the next prime minister.

[49] Although Conte won confidence votes in the parliament in the subsequent days, he chose to resign, having failed to reach an absolute majority in the Senate of the Republic.

[51] During 2021, President Mattarella expressed his unavailability regarding a second term, which had been proposed by various political forces, recalling similar remarks made by his predecessors Antonio Segni and Giovanni Leone.

[56] During a press conference in Rome on 22 December 2021, Prime Minister Draghi, questioned on the hypothesis of his rise to the Quirinal Palace, declared that he was "a grandfather in the service of institutions".

[70][71] On 16 January, forty parliamentarians in opposition to the Draghi government and belonging to the Mixed Group factions of Alternativa, Communist Party (PC), and Power to the People (PaP), supported the candidacy of the former vice-president of the Constitutional Court of Italy Paolo Maddalena, subsequently obtaining the support of Italexit, Italy of Values (IdV), and the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), the latter of which was not represented in the assembly.

The list notably included Elisabetta Casellati, who is serving as the president of the Senate,[75] former president of the Senate Marcello Pera,[76] former presidents of the Chamber of Deputies like Pier Ferdinando Casini[77] and Luciano Violante,[78] the European Commissioner and former prime minister Paolo Gentiloni,[79] the judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy and former prime minister Giuliano Amato,[80] former ministers like Franco Frattini,[81] Giulio Tremonti,[82] Andrea Riccardi,[83] Rosy Bindi,[84] and Paola Severino,[85] the judge of the Constitutional Court of Italy Silvana Sciarra,[86] and the diplomat Elisabetta Belloni.

On the other hand, the candidacies of Maddalena and Cappato were voted by minor parties and parliamentary groups, while Action and More Europe confirmed their support to the Minister of Justice Marta Cartabia.

Casellati gained a mere result of 382 votes,[101] far below the majority threshold of 505 required to be elected and even below the number of centre-right electors, due to more than 70 so-called "free snipers" (Italian: franchi tiratori).

[106] Salvini's statement was soon followed by a remark of Giuseppe Conte, president of the M5S, opening to a possibile agreement between Lega and M5S on the candidacy of Elisabetta Belloni, a diplomat and director of the Department of Information for Security.

[111] On the morning of 29 January, the seventh ballot was inconclusive, as Lega and FI abstained, the centre-left voted blank, and FdI supported Nordio.

[112] Letta, who had already proposed his re-election a few weeks before, asked the other leaders to follow "the Parliament's wisdom", referring to the massive support that Mattarella had received in the previous ballots.

[11][120] In the early afternoon, the delegations of parliamentary groups of PD, M5S, Lega, FI, IV, CI, LeU, and For the Autonomies went to the Quirinal Palace asking Mattarella to concede his availability to a second term.

[126][127][128] In accordance with the Constitution of Italy, the election was held in the form of a secret ballot, with 321 senators, 630 deputies, and 58 regional representatives entitled to vote.

Fico had anticipated that he would consider only announcing the surname of the candidate written on each ballot whilst counting the votes, ignoring any additional names or titles.

[134] The presidential election procedure has been likened to a papal conclave by international observers, among them Bloomberg News,[135] The New York Times,[136] and The Washington Post.

[138] The eligibility requirements, contained in the first paragraph of Article 84 of the Constitution of Italy, are to have Italian citizenship, have reached the age of 50,[139] and enjoy civil and political rights.

Since two thirds of the electors left their ballots blank following party instructions, and others cast invalid votes, no candidate could receive the required majority.

Despite the lack of any formal support to his candidacy, Mattarella led with 336 votes, still well short of the required majority, and the seventh and eighth ballots were scheduled for 9:30am and 4:30pm, respectively, on 29 January.

[171][172] On the day of the final ballot, Matteo Salvini and the minister of economic development Giancarlo Giorgetti (Lega) stated that Mario Draghi's government would need a "new phase" after the political events that characterised the presidential election.

[173] For The New York Times, Jason Horowitz wrote that Sergio Mattarella's re-election "increased the likelihood that Mr. Draghi, a former president of the European Central Bank, would continue to lead the unity government until scheduled elections in February 2023.

He also commented on the Russo-Ukrainian crisis, stating: "We cannot accept that now, without even the pretext of competition between different political and economic systems, the winds of confrontation are once again blowing across a continent that has experienced the tragedies of the First and Second World Wars.

Enrico Letta, leader of the Democratic Party, saw the result as a "victory for everyone" and posted a picture of the pencil he used to vote for Mattarella in the eighth ballot, saying that he would keep it as "a beautiful souvenir", while Forza Italia's Silvio Berlusconi, who was thought to be a possible presidential candidate for the centre-right coalition but withdrew his bid for the presidency a week earlier, praised Mattarella "from whom we know we are asking for a great sacrifice, but we also know that we can ask him in the higher interests of the country."

"[128] United States president Joe Biden welcomed Mattarella's re-election and said he looks forward to "continuing our efforts to further strengthen US-Italy ties, deepen the transatlantic partnership, and address common global challenges."

Referring to Mattarella as "dear Sergio", French president Emmanuel Macron posted a message in Italian saying: "I know I can count on your commitment to ensure the friendship between our countries and this united, strong and prosperous Europe that we are building."

Pope Francis assured Mattarella of his prayers "so that he may continue to support the dear Italian people in building an ever more fraternal coexistence and encouraging them to face the future with hope.