Tuscan regional election, 1995

Tuscan regional election, 1995

April 23, 1995

All 50 seats to the Regional Council of Tuscany   Majority party Minority party Third party   Leader Vannino Chiti Paolo del Debbio Luciano Ghelli Party Democratic Party of the Left Forza Italia Communist Refoundation Party Alliance The Olive Tree Pole of Freedoms & Pole of Good Government Last election new alliance new alliance new party Seats won 33 13 4 Seat change N.A. N.A. N.A. Popular vote 1,188,995 855,287 294,128 Percentage 50.1% 36.1% 12.40% Swing N.A. N.A. N.A.

President of Tuscany before election Vannino Chiti Democratic Party of the Left President of Tuscany Vannino Chiti Democratic Party of the Left

The Tuscan regional election of 1995 took place on 23 April 1995.

For the first time the President of the Region was directly elected by the people, although the election was not yet binding and the President-elect could have been replaced during the term.

Electoral law

Tuscany used for the first time the national Tatarella Law to elect its Council. Forty councillors are elected in provincial constituencies by proportional representation using the largest remainder method with a Droop quota and open lists; remained seats and votes are grouped at regional level where a Hare quota is used, and then distributed to provincial party lists.

Ten councillors are elected at-large using a general ticket: parties are grouped in alliances, and the alliance which receives a plurality of votes elects all its candidates, its leader becoming the President of Lombardy. If an alliance wins more than 60% of votes, only 5 candidates from the regional list will be chosen and the number of those elected in provincial constituencies will be 45; if the winning alliance receives less than 50% of votes, special seats are added to the Council to ensure a large majority for the President's coalition.

Results

In the context of the profound political changes that invested Italy between 1992 and 1994, Italian Parliament changed the regional electoral law, adapting them to new majoritarian principle now in vogue in the country, trim and tend bipolar politics. The new political geography, however, did not fit properly to Tuscany where, besides a garrison of right, assumed insignificant importance the presence of Umberto Bossi's Lega Nord, which, instead of the others regions, substained the center-left candidate. Another major innovation had originated in Tuscany: Silvio Berlusconi' party, Forza Italia, had collected anti-Communist orphans of deceased traditional parties.

The central political alliances had not been followed up at Tuscany, with the Communist Refoundation Party in sharp contrast with PDS because of the contrast into the old party of PCI. PRC accused the PDS and at the same time the Lega Nord accused Forza Italia to be the trojan horse for the recycling of the old political class, had led to the arrest of the Northern League's electoral steady ascent, if not also a marked reflux into the consent of the federalist party. Soparadoxically, the Lega Nord substained Chiti.

Election on April 23 saw the success of the broad leftist coalition, grouping progressive ex-Democrats, ex-socialist, ex-communist and greens, and led to presidency Vannino Chiti that, with the majority premium, was able to give life to the first council in the history of the region that managed to last the entire legislature.

Candidates	Regional lists			Provincial lists					Total
	votes	%	seats	Parties	votes	%	swing	seats	party	group
Vannino Chiti	1,188,995	50.12	10	Democratic Party of the Left	874,463	40.9	new	19	29	33
				PPI–PdD–FdL	135,895	6.35	new	2	2
				Federation of the Greens	57,666	2.70	-1.1	1	1
				Labour Federation	30,204	1.41	new	1	1
				Italian Republican Party	16,395	0.77	-2.7	-	-
				Lega Nord Toscana	15,049	0.70	-0.1	-	-
Paolo del Debbio	855,287	36.05	-	Forza Italia-People's Pole	409,266	19.13	new	7	7	13
				National Alliance	281,298	13.15	new	5	5
				Christian Democratic Centre	53,291	2.49	new	1	1
Luciano Ghelli	294,128	12.40	-	Communist Refoundation Party	237,405	11.10	new	4	4	4
Vincenzo Donvito	33,856	1.43	-	Pannella List	28,295	1.32	new	-	-
Total candidates	2,372,266	100.00	10	Total parties	2,139,227	100.00	=	40	50	50

Source: Ministry of the Interior