Italian general election, 1909

Italian general election, 1909

7–14 March 1909

All 508 seats to the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy   Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Giovanni Giolitti Filippo Turati Ettore Sacchi Party Historical Left Socialist Party Radical Party Seats won 329 41 48 Seat change 10 12 11 Popular vote 995,290 347,615 181,242 Percentage 54.4% 19.0% 9.9% Swing 3.5% 2.3% 1.5%

Prime Minister before election Giovanni Giolitti Historical Left Elected Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti Historical Left

General elections were held in Italy on 7 March 1909, with a second round of voting on 14 March.^[1] The "ministerial" left-wing bloc remained the largest in Parliament, winning 329 of the 508 seats.^[2]

Electoral system

The election was held using 508 single-member constituencies. However, prior to the election the electoral law was amended so that candidates needed only an absolute majority of votes to win their constituency, abolishing the second requirement of receiving the votes of at least one-sixth of registered voters.^[3]

Historical background

The right-wing leader Sidney Sonnino succeed to Giolitti's protegé Alessandro Fortis as Prime Minister on 1906. But his cabinet had a short lift; anyway Sonnino formed an alliance with France on the colonial expansion in North Africa. His government lasted only few months.

After Sonnino's resignation Giovanni Giolitti returned to power in 1906. Many critics accused Giolitti of manipulating the elections, piling up majorities with the restricted suffrage at the time, using the prefects just as his contenders. However, he did refine the practice in the elections of 1904 and 1909 that gave the liberals secure majorities.

In the election, The Right lost his important position in the Parliament, replaced by the Radical Party of Ettore Sacchi, who became an ally of Giolitti and the Italian Socialist Party of Filippo Turati, which continued its strong opposition to the Left governments.

Parties and leaders

Results

← Summary of March 1909 Chamber of Deputies election results →

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	Historical Left	995,290	54.4	329	−10
	Italian Socialist Party	347,615	19.0	41	+12
	Radical Party	181,242	9.9	48	+11
	Historical Right	108,029	5.9	44	−32
	Italian Republican Party	81,461	4.4	23	−1
	Catholic Electoral Union	73,015	4.0	18	+15
	Constitutional Independent	41,213	2.2	0	New
	Vacant	–	–	5	±0
Invalid/blank votes		61,500	–	–	–
Total		1,903,687	100	508	±0
Registered voters/turnout		2,930,473	65.0	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

First party by Region

References

Elections and referendums in Italy
General elections	1861 1865 1867 1870 1874 1876 1880 1882 1886 1890 1892 1895 1897 1900 1904 1909 1913 1919 1921 1924 1929 1934 1946 1948 1953 1958 1963 1968 1972 1976 1979 1983 1987 1992 1994 1996 2001 2006 2008 2013 next
European elections	1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014
Regional elections	1947 1949 1951 1953 1954 1955 1957 1959 1961 1963 1964 1965 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1973 1974 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1981 1983 1984 1985 1986 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
Local elections	1946 1951 1956 1960 1964 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Referendums	1946 1974 1978 1981 1985 1987 1989 1990 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2000 2001 2003 2005 2006 2009 2011 2016 (Apr) 2016 (Dec)
See also: Elections in Abruzzo Aosta Valley Apulia Basilicata Calabria Campania Emilia-Romagna Friuli-Venezia Giulia Lazio Liguria Lombardy Marche Molise Piedmont Sardinia Sicily Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol Tuscany Umbria Veneto