ROME, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Mafia organizations might play an influence on Italy's political elections scheduled on March 4, the interior minister has warned.
According to local media on Thursday, Interior Minister Marco Minniti said Italy is "at the height of the electoral race," and mafia groups that might threaten the democratic system is not unusual.
The minister made his remarks while presenting an annual report by the parliamentary anti-mafia commission to senators on Wednesday. "We do face the risk of the mafia conditioning the free vote of citizens and the election in some areas," he stressed.
The minister warned there was "too much silence" on mafia issues in the current electoral campaign. Yet, mafia groups are able "to influence public institutions and politics," Minniti said.
The annual report issued by the parliament's anti-mafia commission chaired by lawmaker Rosy Bindi confirmed the 'Ndrangheta based in the southern Calabria region was more powerful than the other two traditional Italian mobs, namely Sicilian Cosa Nostra and Naples-based Camorra.
"(After being) underestimated for a long time, the 'Ndrangheta is today the richest, fiercest, and most powerful crime syndicate -- also at transnational level -- due to its leading the global drug trafficking," the commission wrote.
Italy has suffered several cases of mafia vote-buying in its history, and toughened its legislation against the phenomenon in 2014. The new law provided a more detailed definition of the vote-buying conduct, and a wider spectrum of behaviors for which politicians and candidates can be put under investigation.
