Seven candidates from Venice's Bangladeshi-Italian community are standing in the city's local election on Sunday and Monday, potentially making history by becoming the first people of Bangladeshi origin elected to the lagoon city's administration. The candidates, running on a centre-left Democratic Party (PD) list, are seeking seats in Venice council and other municipalities, led by mayoral candidate Andrea Martella.
Rhitu Miah, an architect and social media influencer with over 200,000 followers, is one of the candidates. She faced racist and sexist comments online after announcing her candidacy, including a message telling her to 'get on a camel and go back to your own country.' Miah said the hostility motivated her to run, aiming to combat prejudices. The Bangladeshi community in Venice numbers roughly 20,000, predominantly living in Mestre on the mainland.
The election campaign has focused on overtourism, housing crisis, strained social services, and security. Far-right politicians have used inflammatory rhetoric, including leaflets warning that 'Allah' was taking over, after proposals for a mosque—first mooted by the outgoing mayor, Luigi Brugnaro. Miah said the mosque issue was not raised by candidates, as 'there are more serious problems.'
Final polls in early May suggested the centre-left had an edge over the conservative camp, whose mayoral candidate is Simone Venturini, the current tourism councillor and proponent of a controversial entrance fee for day-trippers. Martella, supported by a broad leftwing alliance, has pledged to abolish the fee and focus on citizens' needs, including integrating the Bangladeshi community. He said the city needs a 'total reset' after years of focusing on tourism while the main island's population dropped from 170,000 in the 1950s to about 47,000 now.
Many voters remain undecided, but there is a general consensus that Venice under Brugnaro's administration was 'disastrous,' according to hotel manager Gabriele Brunelli. A win for the centre-left would end 11 years of conservative rule and send a signal to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right government.
