1955 Italian presidential election

The 1955 Italian presidential election was held in Italy on 28–29 April 1955. Giovanni Gronchi, President of the Chamber of Deputies, was elected President of Italy

1955 Italian presidential election

← 1948 28–29 April 1955 1962 →

843 voters
(217 Senators, 616 Deputies
and 10 regional representatives[1])

562 (1st–3rd ballots) or 422 (4th ballot onwards) votes needed to win
 
Nominee Giovanni Gronchi
Party DC
Electoral vote 658
Percentage 78.1%

Result on the fourth ballot
(29 April 1955)

  Gronchi 658   Einaudi 70   Others 81

  Invalids, blanks, abstentions and absents 104

President before election

Luigi Einaudi
PLI

Elected President

Giovanni Gronchi
DC

Only members of Parliament and regional delegates were entitled to vote, most of these electors having been elected in the 1953 general election.

Procedure

edit

In accordance with the Italian Constitution, the election was held in the form of a secret ballot, with the Senators and the Deputies entitled to vote. The election was held in the Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, with the capacity of the building expanded for the purpose. The first three ballots required a two-thirds majority of the 843 voters in order to elect a president, or 562 votes. Starting from the fourth ballot, an absolute majority was required for candidates to be elected, or 422 votes.

The election was presided over by the President of the Chamber of Deputies Giovanni Gronchi, who proceeded to the public counting of the votes, and by the President of the Senate Cesare Merzagora.

Proposed nominees

edit

Chronology

edit

On 28 April 1955, the Italian Parliament convened to elect the new President of the Republic, since President Luigi Einaudi's term was about to end. After the death of Alcide De Gasperi, the new leader of Christian Democracy party Amintore Fanfani decided to endorse the candidacy of the incumbent President of the Senate Cesare Merzagora, but failed to control his own party's representatives, who on the first ballot succeeded in making Merzagora's candidacy sink.

On the first round, left-wing parties decided to sustain the actionist Ferruccio Parri, while liberals and monarchists decided to vote for the outgoing President Luigi Einaudi.

After Merzagora's candidacy failed to gain a large majority, Fanfani decided to endorse the incumbent President of the Chamber of Deputies Giovanni Gronchi. As a member of the leftist faction of the Christian Democracy, Gronchi was able to gain the support of left-wing parties. On 29 April 1955 on the fourth-round vote, Gronchi was elected the new President of Italian Republic by a large margin.

Results

edit
 
Deputy Giorgio Almirante casts his vote on 28 April 1955
Candidate First round
28 April 1955
Second round
28 April 1955
Third round
29 April 1955
Fourth round
29 April 1955
Ferruccio Parri 308
Cesare Merzagora 228 225 245
Luigi Einaudi 120 80 61 70
Giovanni Gronchi 30 127 281 658
Antonio Segni 12 18 14
Raffaele De Caro 14
Other candidates 23 24 7 11
Blank papers 89 332 195 92
Invalid papers 5 2 2 2
Abstentions 28 35 26 10
Total 843 843 843 843
Source: Presidency of the Republic

Inauguration

edit

Giovanni Gronchi officially sworn in as the new President of Italy on 11 May 1955.

edit

Notes

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Delegates from the five autonomous regions of Italy: Sicily, Sardinia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Aosta Valley and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol.