ITALY

ELECTIONS IN 2006

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Chamber:

Senato della Repubblica

Dates of election / renewal (from/to):

9 April 2006

10 April 2006

Purpose of elections:

Elections were held for all the seats in the Senate following premature dissolution of this body on 11 February 2006. Elections had previously taken place on 13 May 2001.

Background and outcome of elections:

The outgoing President of the Republic, Mr. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, dissolved parliament on 11 February 2006 and called parliamentary elections for 9 and 10 April 2006. Following changes to the electoral law, the revised proportional representation system favoured the formation of coalitions, and the provision relating to constituencies for Italians abroad (electing six senators and 12 deputies) came into effect for the first time.

In the last elections held in 2001, the right-wing House of Freedoms coalition won 366 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 177 in the Senate. The Olive Tree coalition obtained 242 and 125 seats respectively.

Two coalitions dominated the 2006 elections: the House of Freedoms, led by Italy's longest-serving Prime Minister, Mr. Silvio Berlusconi, and the Union, which incorporated the Olive Tree coalition. Mr. Romano Prodi, former Prime Minister and former President of the European Commission, was chosen in October 2005 to lead the Union coalition.

The economy and the presence of Italian troops in Iraq were the main issues on the agenda during the election campaign. Prime Minister Berlusconi had pledged a stronger economy under his leadership. However, the GDP growth rate stagnated at 0.8 per cent per year and youth unemployment remained high. During the election campaign, he promised to abolish property tax, while his rival Mr. Prodi promised to boost the economy by reducing labour costs and the country's deficit. Both leaders pledged to withdraw Italy's troops from Iraq by the end of 2006. Allegations of corruption and bribery relating to the Prime Minister's private business interests formed a backdrop to the campaign.

Turnout was recorded above 83 per cent, up from 81 per cent in the 2001 elections.

The revised electoral system provides a bonus for the party or coalition with the highest score. As a result, although the share of the vote was very close, the Union took 348 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, while the House of Freedoms won 281 seats. In the Senate, where the bonus is applied at regional level, the Union won only two more seats than the House of Freedoms, taking 158 of the 315 elective seats. Four other Senate seats are appointed by the President of the Republic, and former Presidents are also ex officio members. The Italian Associations in South America won one seat in each chamber from the overseas constituencies. Prime Minister Berlusconi rejected the results, alleging irregularities and calling for a recount.

The newly-elected Parliament held its first session on 28 April. On the following day, the Senate elected Mr. Franco Marini as its President in a second round of the voting, while the Chamber of Deputies elected Mr. Fausto Bertinotti as its Speaker at the fourth vote. Both were supported by Mr. Prodi's coalition.

Prime Minister Berlusconi finally admitted his coalition's defeat and submitted his resignation to President Ciampi on 2 May.

On 10 May, Mr. Giorgio Napolitano, a former Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, was elected as the new President of the Republic by the electoral college that includes parliamentarians from both chambers and representatives of 20 local and regional governments. Mr. Napolitano was officially sworn in on 15 May 2006, and gave Mr. Prodi a mandate to form a new government.

STATISTICS


Round no 1 (9 April 2006): Election results
Number of registered electors		42'232'467
Voters		35'262'679 (83.5%)
Blank or invalid ballot papers		1'100'064
Valid votes		34'162'615



Round no 1: Distribution of votes

Political Group	Candidates	Votes	Votes in Italy	%
Union (L'Unione)		18'977'843	16'725'077		49.00
House of Freedoms		19'002'598	17'153'256		50.20
Italian Associations in South America


Round no 1: Distribution of seats

Political Group	Total	Elected in Italy	Elected from abroad
Union (L'Unione)	158	154	4
House of Freedoms	156	155	1
Italian Associations in South America	1	0	1

Comments:

Source: http://www.interno.it/
Note on the distribution of seats:
The statistics above refer to the 315 elective seats.
Composition of the newly-elected Senate (including four appointed members and three ex-officio members)
- Olive Tree coalition (ULIVO): 101
- Forza Italia: 70
- National Alliance: 41
- Communist Refoundation Party: 27
- Union of Christian and Centre Democrats: 21
- Northern League: 13
- Christian Democratic Party - Independent - Movement for the Autonomy: 11
- Together with the Union (Insieme con l'Unione): 11
- For the Autonomies (Per le Autonomie): 10
- Mixed parliamentary group (MISTO): 17
(Senate: http://www.senato.it/senato.htm)

44 women were directly elected (Senate, May 2006).

Distribution of seats according to sex:

Men:

278

Women:

Percent of women:

13.66

Distribution of seats according to age:

Distribution of seats according to profession:

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