Napolitano Agrees to Run for 2nd Term as Italian President

Napolitano, 87, who was due to step down on 15 May, agreed Saturday to the appeal of the main political parties to run for a second 7-year term in office. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Italian President has agreed to run for re-election in a bid to resolve the growing political crisis plaguing the country.

Napolitano, 87, who was due to step down on 15 May, agreed Saturday to the appeal of the main political parties to run for a second 7-year term in office, according to reports of the BBC News.

Napolitano's decision to run for another term as president came after five rounds of inconclusive voting and two failed candidacies.

The sixth vote is scheduled to take place Saturday afternoon.

Napolitano needs to secure 504 votes out of 1007 electors to be confirmed for a second term.

A caretaker government has been governing Italy since February's inconclusive general elections.

If Napolitano is re-elected, he is expected to help end the political deadlock caused by the February elections and pave the way toward brokering a coalition government.