2000 Tuscan regional election

The Tuscan regional election of 2000 took place on 16 April 2000.

2000 Tuscan regional election

← 1995 16 April 2000 2005 →

All 50 seats to the Regional Council
Turnout74.6% (Decrease10.6%)
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Claudio Martini Altero Matteoli
Party DS National Alliance
Alliance The Olive Tree Pole for Freedoms
Last election 33 13
Seats won 32 16
Seat change Decrease1 Increase3
Popular vote 1,029,142 836,001
Percentage 49.3% 40.0%
Swing Decrease0.8% Increase4.0%


President before election

Vannino Chiti
DS

Elected President

Claudio Martini
DS

Electoral system

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Regional elections in Tuscany were ruled by the "Tatarella law" (approved in 1995), which provided for a mixed electoral system: four fifths of the regional councilors were elected in provincial constituencies by proportional representation, using the largest remainder method with a droop quota and open lists, while the residual votes and the unassigned seats were grouped into a "single regional constituency", where the whole ratios and the highest remainders were divided with the Hare method among the provincial party lists; one fifth of the council seats instead was reserved for regional lists and assigned with a majoritarian system: the leader of the regional list that scored the highest number of votes was elected to the presidency of the Region while the other candidates were elected regional councilors.

A threshold of 3% had been established for the provincial lists, which, however, could still have entered the regional council if the regional list to which they were connected had scored at least 5% of valid votes.

The panachage was also allowed: the voter can indicate a candidate for the presidency but prefer a provincial list connected to another candidate.

Parties and candidates

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Political party or alliance Constituent lists Previous result Candidate
Votes (%) Seats
Centre-left coalition Democrats of the Left 40.9 19 Claudio Martini
Italian People's Party 6.3 2
Federation of the Greens 2.7 1
Italian Democratic SocialistsItalian Republican Party 0.8
The Democrats
Party of Italian Communists
Union of Democrats for Europe
Centre-right coalition Forza Italia 19.1 7 Altero Matteoli
National Alliance 13.1 5
Christian Democratic Centre 2.5 1
Northern League Tuscany 0.7
United Christian Democrats
Socialist Party
Others
Communist Refoundation Party 11.1 4 Niccolò Pecorini
Bonino List 1.3 Gianfranco Dell'Alba

Results

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1999 European election marked a turning point in relations between Forza Italia and the Northern League. In fact, the assembly works in Parliament had highlighted a growing programmatic convergence between the two parties. And so, in view of the 2001 general election, Berlusconi and Umberto Bossi put aside the old, and even bloody quarrels, and formed a new coalition: the Pole for Freedoms, which found in the regional elections, also in Tuscany, its first test. So the center-right candidate, Altero Matteoli, an important figure on the national landscape, was sustained also by the Northern League, which in 1995 had sustained Chiti.

The combination of what were the major forces of regional politics, securing an appointment to Claudio Martini, which ensured stability of the Regional Cabinet that the new regulations wanted to coincide in term with the legislature. Democrats of the Left was confirmed as the largest party in the region with 36% of the vote, while Forza Italia was the second largest party with 20%. The Olive Tree, an alliance comprising several centre-left parties including the Italian People's Party, the Democrats of the Left, The Democrats, the Federation of the Greens and Party of Italian Communists, had a reconfirmation but lost votes.

Like 1995 election, Communist Refoundation Party run lonely with its candidate.

16 April 2000 Tuscan regional election results
 
Candidates Votes % Seats Parties Votes % Seats
Claudio Martini 1,029,142 49.30 10
Democrats of the Left 708,750 36.20 17
Italian People's Party 71,195 3.64 1
The Democrats 64,606 3.30 1
Party of Italian Communists 59,258 3.03 1
Federation of the Greens 42,269 2.16 1
Italian Democratic SocialistsItalian Republican Party 36,413 1.86 1
Union of Democrats for Europe 2,406 0.12
Total 984,897 50.30 22
Altero Matteoli 839,001 40.05 1
Forza Italia 395,946 20.22 8
National Alliance 291,200 14.87 5
United Christian Democrats 40,692 2.08 1
Christian Democratic Centre 40,476 2.07 1
Socialist Party 11,956 0.61
Northern League Tuscany 11,256 0.57
Tuscan Autonomist Movement 2,176 0.11
The Liberals Sgarbi 853 0.04
Total 794,555 40.58 15
Niccolò Pecorini 159,862 7.66 Communist Refoundation Party 131,471 6.71 2
Gianfranco Dell'Alba 49,358 2.36 Bonino List 40,496 2.07
Paolo Vecchi 12,950 0.62 Humanist Party 6,722 0.34
Total candidates 2,087,313 100.00 11 Total parties 1,958,141 100.00 39
Source: Ministry of the Interior – Historical Archive of Elections

References

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