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On May 2, 2006, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy Fausto Bertinotti, in agreement with Senate Speaker Franco Marini, convoked the two houses of the Italian Parliament, integrated with a number of Grand Electors appointed by the 20 Italian regions, in a common session on May 8 in order to start votings for the new President of the Italian Republic.
According to the Italian Constitution, the election is held in form of secret ballot, and 1,009 electors (321 Senators, 630 Deputies and 58 regional representatives) are allowed to cast their vote. The election is held in Palazzo Montecitorio, home of the Chamber of Deputies, whose capacity is deliberately widened. The first three ballots requires a quorum of 2/3 of the voters in order to elect a president, in this election equivalent to 674 votes. Starting from the fourth ballot, an absolute majority is required for candidates to be elected (in this election, 506 votes). The election is headed by the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, which has the faculty to proceed to the public counting of the votes. The presidential mandate lasts seven years.
Outgoing President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, 85, was asked to run for another mandate by the centre-right House of Freedoms, with the strong support of the centre-left Union. However, Ciampi declined to run again, noting that "none of the past nine President of the Republic was ever re-elected. I think this has become a meaningful rule. It is better not to infringe it". Ciampi was elected in 1999 at the first ballot, being the second president ever to gain an immediate election, after Francesco Cossiga.
Ballots
First ballot (May 8)
The Union initially proposed lifetime Senator Giorgio Napolitano as its official candidate, in an attempt to reach an agreement with the House of Freedoms, whose votes are necessary to have a successful election at the first ballot; however, the centre-right opposition declared it does not intend to vote for Napolitano, and instead announced its own member will vote for Gianni Letta for now. After this announcement, the Union declared that its members will cast a blank vote in the first ballot, in order not to waste Napolitano's candidacy, with the exception of the Rose in the Fist, which should vote for either Adriano Sofri or Emma Bonino. Inside the centre-right, the Christian Democracy for the Autonomies and the Socialist Party New PSI will vote for journalist Giuliano Ferrara.
The voting operations started at 16:00 CET; as no candidate obtained the 674 votes requested to win the election, a new ballot will be held in the morning of May 9.
Results
| Name | Votes |
|---|---|
| Gianni Letta | 369 |
| Massimo D'Alema | 27 |
| Franca Rame | 24 |
| Adriano Sofri | 23 |
| Siegfried Brugger | 12 |
| Giuliano Ferrara | 8 |
| Giorgio Napolitano | 8 |
| Giampaolo Malavasi | 6 |
| Gino Strada | 5 |
| Carlo Azeglio Ciampi | 4 |
| Giuliano Amato | 3 |
| Umberto Bossi | 3 |
| Cesare Previti | 3 |
| Stefano Rodotà | 3 |
| Giulio Andreotti | 2 |
| Giuseppe Anzani | 2 |
| Silvio Berlusconi | 2 |
| Lidia Menapace | 2 |
| Other candidates | 22 |
| Blank votes | 438 |
| Invalid votes | 18 |
Among the other votes casted, there are one vote each for Linda Giuva, wife of Massimo D'Alema, singer/songwriter Francesco Guccini and controversial writer Oriana Fallaci. A vote for Giorgio Almirante, historical leader of the Italian Social Movement died in 1988, was declared invalid.
Second ballot (May 9)
This ballot, as well as the first, requires a majority of 674 votes. After several discussions about the opportunity to vote Giorgio Napolitano, the House of Freedoms decided to cast a blank vote too. However, the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats declared its members could vote for Napolitano in the next ballot, an opinion which is not shared within the coalition. Because of all that, the Union members will not vote for Napolitano yet. Rather than to cast a blank vote, the centre-left party Popular-UDEUR instead decided to vote in this ballot for an own symbolic candidate, Giuseppe De Rita.
The voting operations started at 11:30 CET.
Results
| Name | Votes |
|---|---|
| Umberto Bossi | 38 |
| Massimo D'Alema | 35 |
| Giuseppe De Rita | 19 |
| Giorgio Napolitano | 15 |
| Gianni Letta | 11 |
| Siegfried Brugger | 11 |
| Giuliano Ferrara | 9 |
| Renato Antonioli | 7 |
| Angelo Sanza | 6 |
| Francesco Cosimi Proietti | 6 |
| Gino Strada | 5 |
| Giuliano Amato | 4 |
| Carlo Azeglio Ciampi | 3 |
| Livia Menapace | 3 |
| Luigi Pallaro | 3 |
| Antonio Ambra | 3 |
| Franco Marini | 3 |
| Linda Giuva | 3 |
| Stefano Rodotà | 3 |
| Maria Gabriella di Savoia | 3 |
| Bruno Vespa | 3 |
| Franco Piperno | 2 |
| Mauro Mellini | 2 |
| Other candidates | 29 |
| Blank votes | 724 |
| Invalid votes | 22 |
Among the other votes, there are one vote each for rock musician Vasco Rossi and Luciano Moggi, general manager of football team Juventus F.C..
Third ballot (May 9)
After the second ballot, Silvio Berlusconi declared his coalition would never vote for either Giorgio Napolitano or any other candidate associated with the Democrats of the Left, and would continue casting blank votes for both the third and probably also the fourth ballot. However, Pier Ferdinando Casini, leader of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, an ally of Berlusconi in the House of Freedoms, declared his party considers it "a mistake not to vote for Giorgio Napolitano as President of the Republic" end expressed a wish for a large consensus among the political forces on Napolitano's name. On the other hand, the Union declared its members would again cast a blank vote in this ballot, but would vote for Napolitano in the fourth ballot, to be held on May 10, for which a plain majority of votes is required for a successful election.
The voting operations will start at 17:00 CET.
Results
Note: As the vote count is still in progress, these results may be not updated.
| Name | Votes |
|---|---|
| Massimo D'Alema | 15 |
| Giorgio Napolitano | 6 |
| Gianni Letta | 3 |
| Umberto Bossi | 1 |
| Other candidates | 33 |
| Blank votes | 319 |
| Invalid votes | 16 |
Proposed candidates
House of Freedoms
- Gianni Letta, former presidential undersecretary under the three governments of Silvio Berlusconi;
The Union
- Giuliano Amato, former Prime Minister of Italy (two times), now Member of Parliament with the Olive Tree;
- Massimo D'Alema, former Prime Minister of Italy, now President and prominent member of the Democrats of the Left. He has received supported by most of the coalition, including his party, the Daisy-Democracy is Freedom, the Party of Italian Communists and others, but he has also been criticized by several parts of the opposition;
- Anna Finocchiaro, former Minister for Gender Equality, member of the Democrats of the Left and leader of the Olive Tree in the Senate;
- Franco Marini, incumbent Speaker of the Italian Senate, member of the Daisy-Democracy is Freedom party. On May 4, he announced not to intend to run for the office.
- Giorgio Napolitano, lifetime Senator, now member of the Democrats of the Left, officially endorsed by the Union on May 7;
- Franca Rame, theater actress, wife of Nobel Prize winner Dario Fo, Senator of the Italy of Values, proposed by party leader Antonio Di Pietro.