1904 Italian general election

General elections were held in Italy on 6 November 1904, with a second round of voting on 13 November.[1] The "ministerial" left-wing bloc remained the largest in Parliament, winning 339 of the 508 seats.[2] The papal ban on Catholics voting was relaxed for the first time, and three Catholics were elected.[3]

1904 Italian general election

← 1900 6 November 1904 (first round)
13 November 1904 (second round)
1909 →

All 508 seats in the Chamber of Deputies
255 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party Third party
 
Leader Giovanni Giolitti Filippo Turati Tommaso Tittoni
Party Historical Left PSI Historical Right
Seats won 339 29 76
Seat change Increase43 Decrease4 Decrease40
Popular vote 777,345 326,016 212,584
Percentage 50.90% 21.35% 13.92%
Swing Decrease1.38pp Increase8.35pp Decrease7.49pp

Prime Minister before election

Giovanni Giolitti
Historical Left

Elected Prime Minister

Giovanni Giolitti
Historical Left

Background

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After Giuseppe Saracco resignation as Prime Minister, Giuseppe Zanardelli was appointed as new head of the government; but he was unable to achieve much during his last term of office, as his health was greatly impaired. His Divorce Bill, although voted in the Chamber of Deputies, had to be withdrawn on account of the strong opposition of the country. He retired from the administration on 3 November 1903 and died on 26 December 1903.

The long-time liberal leader Giovanni Giolitti succeeded to Zanardelli. He courted the left and labour unions with social legislation, including subsidies for low-income housing, preferential government contracts for worker cooperatives, and old age and disability pensions. However, he, too, had to resort to strong measures in repressing some serious disorders in various parts of Italy, and thus he lost the favour of the Socialists.

Electoral system

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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.[4]

Parties and leaders

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Party Ideology Leader
Historical Left Liberalism Giovanni Giolitti
Italian Socialist Party Socialism Filippo Turati
Historical Right Conservatism Tommaso Tittoni
Italian Radical Party Radicalism Ettore Sacchi
Italian Republican Party Republicanism Napoleone Colajanni
Catholic Electoral Union Christian democracy Ottorino Gentiloni

Results

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PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Historical Left777,34550.90339+43
Italian Socialist Party326,01621.3529−4
Historical Right212,58413.9276−40
Italian Radical Party128,0028.3837+3
Italian Republican Party75,2254.9324−5
Catholic Electoral Union8,0080.523New
Total1,527,180100.005080
Valid votes1,527,18095.81
Invalid/blank votes66,7064.19
Total votes1,593,886100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,541,32762.72
Source: National Institute of Statistics

References

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  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1047 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1083
  3. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1031
  4. ^ Nohlen & Stöver, p1039