2006 Italian Chamber of Deputies election, North and Central American division

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The 2006 Italian general election was the first in the country's history in which Italian and dual citizens living outside the country could vote by postal ballot in international electoral districts. [1] Twelve members of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and six members of the Italian Senate were elected in this way.

Contents

Italian and dual citizens in North America and Central America (including the Caribbean) elected two members of the Italian Chamber of Deputies. The winning candidates were Gino Bucchino of Romano Prodi's election coalition, The Union, and Salvatore Ferrigno of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party. [2]

The process

All electors could vote for a political list and also cast a first preference vote for a specific candidate. Parties were allotted seats via proportional representation, and the candidates that led the electoral slates that won seats were declared elected.

The parties

Seven electoral lists contested the North and Central American Senate division. The same lists also fielded candidates for the Chamber of Deputies and North and Central America.

Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing Forza Italia party ran its own slate. Two other parties aligned with Berlusconi's government ran separate lists: the moderate conservative Union of Christian and Centre Democrats and Mirko Tremaglia's right-wing For Italy in the World, which was specifically focused on diaspora issues. (Another party in Berlusconi's coalition, the Northern League, also appeared on the ballot, although this seems to have been due to a technical error).

The main opposition group from the previous parliament, Romano Prodi's centre-left Union party, ran a united slate. One of the Union candidates noted that the state of the party lists favoured his group's chances of election. [3]

The centrist Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad also fielded a list, as did the far-right Tricolour Flame party.

Each of the party lists comprised four candidates, except for the Northern League, which fielded three, and the Tricolour Flame, which fielded two.

The results

Romano Prodi's Union received the most votes and won the first seat. Forza Italia finished second and was awarded the second seat.

PartyVotes%Deputies
   The Union 33,88138.721
   Forza Italia 26,84330.681
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 10,89712.45
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 9,49410.85
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 3,7324.26
   Northern League 1,4611.67
   Tricolour Flame 1,1971.37
Total valid votes87,505100.00
The Union candidate preference votes
Gino Bucchino (elected)10,361
Giovanni Rapana'8,626
Silvana Mangione8,086
Graziella Ciminata Bivona4,502
Forza Italia candidate preference votes
Salvatore Ferrigno (elected)10,492
Liliana Bartolotta4,717
Paolo Antonio Ariemma4,427
Angela Della Costanza Turner3,392
For Italy in the World with Tremaglia candidate preference votes
Antonio Cardillo3,593
Anna Colarusso2,950
Angelo Vinciguerra2,362
Quintino Cianfaglione1,634
Union of Christian and Centre Democrats candidate preference votes
Giuseppe Canciani3,877
Domenico Mignone2,696
Gaetano Mattioli Cecchini1,202
Massimo Seracini 916
Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad candidate preference votes
John Adamo1,947
Paolo de Francesco685
Francesco de Leo648
Antonino Massana408
Northern League candidate preference votes
Guido Renzi541
Stefano Bagnasco431
Natale Salvatore Caruso312
Tricolour Flame candidate preference votes
Giorgio Viti382
Vito Verzura351

Source: ARCHIVIO STORICO DELLE ELEZIONI - Consultazione dati: Camera 09/04/2006, Area ESTERO, Ripartizione AMERICA SETTENTRIONALE E CENTRALE, Ministerio dell'Interno, Government of Italy, accessed 27 July 2011. Voters were not required to give a preference vote for any candidate.

Detailed results by country

More than 93 per cent of the total votes were cast in the United States of America or Canada. Forza Italia won a narrow victory in America, while the Union won a significant victory in Canada.

Antigua and Barbuda

PartyVotes%
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 00.00
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 00.00
   Forza Italia 00.00
   The Union 00.00
   Tricolour Flame 00.00
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 00.00
   Northern League 00.00
Total valid votes00.00

Bahamas

PartyVotes%
   Forza Italia 2353.49
   The Union 1227.91
   Northern League 24.65
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 24.65
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 24.65
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 24.65
   Tricolour Flame 00.00
Total valid votes430.05

Barbados

PartyVotes%
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 00.00
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 00.00
   Forza Italia 00.00
   The Union 00.00
   Tricolour Flame 00.00
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 00.00
   Northern League 00.00
Total valid votes00.00

Belize

PartyVotes%
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 00.00
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 00.00
   Forza Italia 00.00
   The Union 00.00
   Tricolour Flame 00.00
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 00.00
   Northern League 00.00
Total valid votes00.00

Canada

PartyVotes%
   The Union 17,09948.21
   Forza Italia 8,80224.82
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 4,29312.10
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 3,75110.58
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 7612.15
   Northern League 4991.41
   Tricolour Flame 2640.74
Total valid votes35,46940.53

Costa Rica

PartyVotes%
   Forza Italia 32839.95
   The Union 23929.11
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 759.14
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 657.92
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 485.85
   Tricolour Flame 485.85
   Northern League 182.19
Total valid votes8210.94

Dominican Republic

PartyVotes%
   Forza Italia 47424.25
   The Union 30837.32
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 25620.16
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 866.77
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 433.39
   Tricolour Flame 534.17
   Northern League 503.94
Total valid votes1,2701.45

El Salvador

PartyVotes%
   Forza Italia 16848.98
   The Union 8925.95
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 308.75
   Tricolour Flame 247.00
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 164.66
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 144.08
   Northern League 20.58
Total valid votes3430.39

Grenada

PartyVotes%
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 00.00
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 00.00
   Forza Italia 00.00
   The Union 00.00
   Tricolour Flame 00.00
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 00.00
   Northern League 00.00
Total valid votes00.00

Guatemala

PartyVotes%
   Forza Italia 46253.66
   The Union 20223.46
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 606.97
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 485.57
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 455.23
   Northern League 222.56
   Tricolour Flame 222.56
Total valid votes8610.98

Haiti

PartyVotes%
   The Union 950.00
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 738.89
   Forza Italia 15.56
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 15.56
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 00.00
   Tricolour Flame 00.00
   Northern League 00.00
Total valid votes180.02

Honduras

PartyVotes%
   Forza Italia 5548.25
   The Union 2219.30
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 97.89
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 97.89
   Tricolour Flame 87.02
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 76.14
   Northern League 43.51
Total valid votes1140.13

Mexico

PartyVotes%
   The Union 73437.76
   Forza Italia 57329.48
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 1929.88
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 1789.16
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 1457.46
   Northern League 683.50
   Tricolour Flame 542.78
Total valid votes1,9442.22

Nicaragua

PartyVotes%
   The Union 8846.07
   Forza Italia 5830.37
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 189.42
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 178.90
   Tricolour Flame 84.19
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 21.05
   Northern League 00.00
Total valid votes1910.22

Panama

PartyVotes%
   Forza Italia 9446.08
   The Union 5426.47
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 3517.16
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 83.92
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 62.94
   Tricolour Flame 62.94
   Northern League 10.49
Total valid votes2040.23

United States of America

PartyVotes%
   Forza Italia 15,80534.19
   The Union 15,02532.50
   For Italy in the World with Tremaglia 6,54214.15
   Union of Christian and Centre Democrats 4,75810.29
   Independent Alternative for Italians Abroad 2,5925.61
   Northern League 7951.72
   Tricolour Flame 7101.54
Total valid votes46,22752.83

Source: ARCHIVIO STORICO DELLE ELEZIONI - Consultazione dati: Camera 09/04/2006, Area ESTERO, Ripartizione AMERICA SETTENTRIONALE E CENTRALE, Ministerio dell'Interno, Government of Italy, accessed 27 July 2011.

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References

  1. "Chicago-Area Businessman Runs For Italian Senate," Italian Voice, 23 February 2006, p. 5; Mike Roberts, "Rocco's Roman empire," CanWest News, 28 February 2006, p. 1.
  2. Peter Goodspeed, "Torontonian wins seat in Rome," National Post, 12 April 2006, A14.
  3. Mike Roberts, "Rocco's Roman empire," CanWest News, 28 February 2006, p. 1.