2006 Rome municipal election

Municipal elections were held in Rome on 28–29 May 2006 to elect the Mayor of Rome and 60 members of the City Council, as well as the nineteen presidents and more than 400 councillors of the 19 municipi in which the municipality was divided.

2006 Rome municipal election

← 2001 28–29 May 2006 2008 →
Turnout66.0% Decrease 13.4 pp
Mayoral election
 
Candidate Walter Veltroni Gianni Alemanno
Party DS AN
Alliance Centre-left Centre-right
Popular vote 926,932 559,810
Percentage 61.4% 37.1%

Mayor before election

Walter Veltroni
DS

Elected mayor

Walter Veltroni
DS

City Council election

All 60 seats in City Council
31 seats needed for a majority
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/–
Centre-left Walter Veltroni 61.36 38 +2
Centre-right Gianni Alemanno 37.03 22 −2
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.

The two main candidates were the incumbent left-wing Walter Veltroni and the national-conservative Minister of Agricolture Gianni Alemanno.

As a result, the incumbent mayor Walter Veltroni was re-elected for a second five-year term by a landslide.

Background

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In April 2006 national general election saw a narrow victory for the centre-left coalition led by Romano Prodi over the incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the centre-right coalition House of Freedoms. To prevent a possible political advantage for the centre-left coalition, Berlusconi had previously fixed the date of the general election in early April, avoiding the municipal elections (which interested Rome and many other big cities such as Milan, Naples and Turin) to take place on the same day, as it actually happened in 2001. Berlusconi stated this was due to his fear that good government by centre-left mayors could favour the centre-left coalition in the general election.[1] The date for municipal elections was ultimately fixed by the Government for 28–29 May 2006.

Mayoral election

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The incumbent mayor Walter Veltroni, whose popularity had hugely increased during his term in office,[2] was then widely considered one of the most popular left-wing politicians in Italy. His candidacy was supported by the new centre-left platform, called The Union. His main opponent was the incumbent Minister of Agricolture Gianni Alemanno, supported by the centre-right House of Freedoms alliance.

During the campaign Alemanno was heavily criticized for the support, sought and obtained at the national level by Berlusconi, of a number of fascist movements and parties, notably the Social Alternative of Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of the former dictator of Italy. Alemanno himself sparked public outrage after appearing live with a celtic cross on his neck during a TV show just a week before the election.[3]

Voting system

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The voting system is used for all mayoral elections in Italy, in the city with a population higher than 15,000 inhabitants. Under this system voters express a direct choice for the mayor or an indirect choice voting for the party of the candidate's coalition. If no candidate receives 50% of votes, the top two candidates go to a second round after two weeks. This gives a result whereby the winning candidate may be able to claim majority support, although it is not guaranteed.

The election of the City Council is based on a direct choice for the candidate with a preference vote: the candidate with the majority of the preferences is elected. The number of the seats for each party is determined proportionally.

Parties and candidates

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This is a list of the major parties (and their respective leaders) which participated in the election.

Political party or alliance Constituent lists Candidate
Centre-left coalition
(The Union)
The Olive Tree Walter Veltroni
Veltroni List
Communist Refoundation Party
Party of Italian Communists
Rose in the Fist
Federation of the Greens
Italy of Values
Others
Centre-right coalition
(House of Freedoms)
Forza Italia Gianni Alemanno
National Alliance
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats
Christian Democracy for Autonomies
Social Action
Others

Results

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Summary of the 2006 Rome City Council and Mayoral election results
 
Candidates Votes % Leader's
seat
Parties Votes % Seats
Walter Veltroni 926,932 61.42 The Olive Tree 441,914 33.82 23
Veltroni List 80,328 6.15 4
Communist Refoundation Party 70,918 5.43 3
Federation of the Greens 62,262 4.76 3
Moderates 57,339 4.39 2
Italy of Values 29,822 2.28 1
Rose in the Fist 25,695 1.97 1
Party of Italian Communists 19,883 1.52 1
Rainbow Rome 8,524 0.65
Consumers' List 2,046 0.16
United Consumers 1,943 0.15
Italian Democratic Socialist Party 1,157 0.09
Total 801,831 61.36 38
Gianni Alemanno 559,810 37.09  Y National Alliance 254,337 19.46 13
Forza Italia 132,869 10.17 6
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 56,763 4.34 2
Love for Rome 10,150 0.78
Social Action 7,553 0.58
Christian Democracy for Autonomies 7,276 0.56
New Italian Socialist Party 5,333 0.41
Forza Roma 3,466 0.27
Italian Republican Party 2,057 0.16
Avanti Lazio 1,327 0.10
Independent Movement for Animal Rights 850 0.07
Pensions, Houses and Work 698 0.05
New Generation 661 0.05
Real Democratic Party 538 0.04
Total 483,878 37.03 21
Rita Casillo 5,816 0.39 Communist Initiative 5,334 0.41
Luca Romagnoli 4,015 0.27 Tricolour Flame 3,848 0.29
David Gramiccioli 3,530 0.23 Dolphin National Movement 3,149 0.24
Alessandra Sarti Magi 2,655 0.18 New ForceNational Social Front 2,603 0.20
Valentina Valenti 2,593 0.17 Third Pole 2,650 0.20
Roberto De Santis 1,091 0.07 Ecologists 943 0.07
Umberto Nardinocchi 1,076 0.07 Active Democracy 985 0.08
Marina Larena 707 0.05 Humanist Party 631 0.05
Stefano Fuccelli 618 0.04 European Animalist Party 562 0.04
Maurizio Giorgetti 351 0.02 Italian Dream 303 0.02
Total 1,509,194 100.00 1 1,306,717 100.00 59
Eligible voters 2,341,773 100.00
Did not vote 796,688 34.02
Voted 1,545,085 65.98
Blank or invalid ballots 35,891 2.32
Total valid votes 1,509,194 97.68
Source: Ministry of the Interior

Municipi election

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All the presidents of each municipio were elected on the first round. Table below shows the results for each municipio with the percentage for each coalition:

Municipio The Olive Tree House of Freedoms Elected President Party
I 61.8 37.3 Giuseppe Lobefaro DL
II 53.9 44.7 Guido Bottini DS
III 62.8 36.5 Orlando Corsetti DL
IV 60.7 37.5 Alessandro Cardente FdV
V 66.0 32.0 Ivano Caradonna DS
VI 65.5 33.3 Teodoro Giannini RnP
VII 64.1 34.2 Roberto Mastrantonio IdV
VIII 62.2 35.9 Fabrizio Scorzoni DS
IX 60.8 36.2 Susana Ana Maria Fantino PRC
X 65.4 33.3 Sandro Medici PRC
XI 64.1 34.3 Andrea Catarci PRC
XII 57.7 41.8 Patrizia Prestipino DL
XIII 59.3 39.3 Paolo Ornelli DS
XV 61.6 37.2 Giovanni Paris DL
XVI 61.2 37.4 Fabio Bellini DS
XVII 54.5 44.3 Antonella De Giusti DL
XVIII 52.1 46.9 Maria Giovanna Filardi DS
XIX 57.8 40.2 Fabio Lazzara DS
XX 48.1 50.0 Massimiliano Fasoli UDC

Source: Municipality of Rome - Electoral Service

References

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  1. ^ "Berlusconi a Prodi: «No all'election day»" (in Italian). Corriere della Sera. 10 October 2005. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Ha fiducia nel sindaco Veltroni? E dopo l'estate il 76% dice sì" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 12 October 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Alemanno mostra la croce celtica. Scontro in TV con Daria Bignardi" (in Italian). la Repubblica. 19 May 2006. Retrieved 16 July 2022.