(see related story on Ius Soli)

(ANSA) - Rome, September 18 - Lower House Deputy Speaker Luigi Di Maio looks set to become the premier candidate for the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) after a deadline passed for candidates on Monday without anyone else publicly saying they would stand.

Italy is set to have a general election early next year and the M5S are the top party in many polls.

Another high-profile M5S member seen as a possible premier candidate, Alessandro Di Battista, announced Monday that he would not stand.

"I'll will explain my reasons (for not standing) at a speech in Rimini," Di Battista said on his Facebook page.

Di Maio, meanwhile, said Monday that the 'Ius Soli' issue about the citizenship of children of migrants born in Italy needed to be tackled at the EU level.

"Our position on Ius Soli has been known since 2013," Di Maio said at the fringes of a meeting in Catania. "It is not a secondary issue, but one to address at European level. Those who become Italian citizens, also become European citizens, so the issue of citizenship should be regulated with common regulations".



