Italy - 2006 General Election
Italy is a multiparty parliamentary democracy with a population of approximately 58.4 million. The bicameral parliament consists of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. National parliamentary elections, which determine who will be president and prime minister, were held in April and were considered free and fair. A center-left coalition led by Prime Minister Romano Prodi replaced the center-right coalition led by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. The parliament elected Giorgio Napolitano as the new president. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
Executive authority is vested in the Council of Ministers, headed by the president of the council (the prime minister). The head of state (president of the republic) nominates the prime minister after consulting with the leaders of all political forces in parliament. National parliamentary elections (which determine who will be president and prime minister) were held in April and were considered free and fair. Authorities invited the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to observe the process for the first time and that organization reported that overall the elections were in keeping with the country's tradition of democratic elections.
The government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, although there were problems in some areas. Despite extensive delays, the law and judiciary otherwise provided effective means of addressing individual instances of abuse. Journalists and prosecutors increased their criticisms of police behavior and filed a greater number of cases against them for various crimes. Lengthy pretrial detention, excessively long court proceedings, violence against women, trafficking in persons, and abuse of Roma remained problems.
The outgoing President of the Republic, 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, Silvio Berlusconi, and the Union, which incorporated the Olive Tree coalition. 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 Prodi promised to boost the economy by reducing labor 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 percent, up from 81 percent 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 elections resulted in a significant increase in the number of women who won elective office. There were 40 women in the 315-seat Senate (up from 25) and 108 women in the 630-seat Chamber of Deputies (up from 63). The number of women in the cabinet increased from two to six of 25 cabinet positions.
The only legally defined minorities are linguistic--the French-speaking Valdostani and the German-speaking Altoatesini/Suditirolesi. In the new parliament there were four members of linguistic minorities in the 315-seat Senate and five in the 630-seat Chamber of Deputies. In a largely monolithic society, immigrants represented approximately 4 percent of the population, and fewer than half of these qualified as ethnic/racial minorities. Two members of immigrant groups (of Moroccan and Palestinian origin) were elected to the Chamber of Deputies.
The newly-elected Parliament held its first session on 28 April. On the following day, the Senate elected Franco Marini as its President in a second round of the voting, while the Chamber of Deputies elected Fausto Bertinotti as its Speaker at the fourth vote. Both were supported by 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, 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. Napolitano was officially sworn in on 15 May 2006, and gave Prodi a mandate to form a new government.
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