Centre right fails to get Casellati elected in 5th ballot

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 28 - The centre-right's bid to get Senate Speaker Elisabetta Casellati elected head of State in the fifth ballot of the election for a new president came up short on Friday.
    The centre-right Democratic Party (PD), the 5-Star Movement (M5S), the left-wing LeU group and the centrist IV party abstained in the fifth ballot, saying a consensus figure is needed, not the pick of one side of the political spectrum.
    Casellati is a member of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party.
    A sixth ballot of the 1,009 grand electors - lawmakers from both houses of parliament and regional representatives - starts at 5pm.
    A simple majority is needed to elect a successor to President Sergio Mattarella, so the magic number is 505. (ANSA).