General elections were held in Italy on 7 March 1909, with a second round of voting on 14 March.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1047 The "ministerial" left-wing bloc remained the largest in Parliament, winning 329 of the 508 seats.Nohlen & Stöver, p1083
Background The right-wing leader Sidney Sonnino succeed to Giolitti's protégé Alessandro Fortis as prime minister in 1906. But his cabinet had a short lift; any way 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.
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.Nohlen & Stöver, p1039
Parties and leaders PartyIdeologyLeaderMinisterialsLiberalismGiovanni GiolittiItalian Socialist PartySocialismFilippo TuratiItalian Radical PartyRadicalismEttore SacchiConstitutional oppositionConservatismSydney SonninoItalian Republican PartyRepublicanismNapoleone ColajanniItalian Catholic Electoral UnionChristian democracyOttorino Gentiloni
Results
Leading party by region Region First party Second party Third party Abruzzo-Molise Min. PSI PR Apulia Min. PSI PR Basilicata Min. PSI PR Calabria Min. PR PSI Campania Min. PR PSI Emilia-Romagna PSI Min. PR Lazio Min. PSI PR Liguria Min. PSI PR Lombardy Min. PSI PR Marche Min. PSI PR Piedmont Min. PSI PR Sardinia Min. PSI PR Sicily Min. PR PSI Tuscany PSI Min. PR Umbria PSI Min. PR Veneto Min. PSI PR
References