Benevento’s city politics has entered a sharper phase of confrontation after opposition councillors at Palazzo Mosti announced they would stop taking part in council commissions.

The decision, reported by NTR24 on September 30 and followed up on October 2, also extends to conferences of group leaders. According to NTR24 and Il Mattino, the move involves councillors from several opposition groups, including the PD, Città Aperta, Avs, Civico 22 and Civici e Riformisti.

The opposition presents the boycott as an institutional protest. NTR24 reports that it is linked to concerns about administrative transparency, institutional conduct and the handling of issues connected to the Santamaria investigation.

That framing is contested. Former city administrator Ambner De Iapinis criticized the decision, describing it as “un fatto gravissimo” and arguing that stepping back from commissions amounts to stepping back from the opposition’s oversight role.

De Iapinis argues that commissions are not optional political meetings but institutional bodies involved in examining council business and exercising scrutiny. In his view, remaining inside those bodies is essential precisely when relations with the administration are most strained.

The dispute reflects a wider escalation of political confrontation between the opposition and the Mastella administration at Palazzo Mosti.

What the boycott covers

Based on the reporting available so far, two elements are confirmed:

  • Participation in council commissions has been suspended by the opposition.
  • Participation in conferences of group leaders is also covered by the announced protest.

The reports describe the decision as both announced and already underway, with NTR24’s October 2 report presenting De Iapinis’s reaction to councillors having stopped participating.

Why the opposition says it acted

The opposition links its decision to transparency and institutional conduct, including the handling of matters connected to the Santamaria investigation.

The available sources report those stated reasons but do not independently verify the underlying allegations. The full text of the opposition’s signed document was not acquired in the research, nor was a formal response from the administration.

What remains unclear

Several practical questions are still open:

  • Whether the boycott is intended as temporary or open-ended. The sources do not clarify its expected duration.
  • What formal consequences, if any, the absence of opposition members may have for commission quorums or the validity of future council proceedings.
  • Whether further political responses from the majority or administration will follow.

For now, the episode leaves Benevento with an opposition protesting from outside two of the council’s regular institutional settings, and a critic from within the city’s administrative history warning that absence weakens scrutiny rather than strengthening it.