1985 Italian presidential election

The Italian presidential election of 1985 was held on 24 June 1985.

1985 Italian presidential election

24 June 1985

1,008 voters
(320 Senators, 630 Deputies
and 58 regional representatives)
674 or 505 votes needed to win
 
Nominee Francesco Cossiga
Party Christian Democracy
Electoral vote 752
Percentage 74.6%

Result on the first ballot
(24 June 1985)

  Cossiga 752   Others 49

  Invalids, blanks, abstentions 207

President before election

Sandro Pertini
PSI

Elected President

Francesco Cossiga
DC

Only members of Parliament and regional delegates were entitled to vote, most of these electors having been elected in the 1983 general election and in the 1985 regional elections. As head of state of the Italian Republic, the President has a role of representation of national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Italian Constitution, in the framework of a parliamentary system.

As a result of the election, Francesco Cossiga was elected President on the first round with almost 75% of the votes. It was the first time in the history of the Italian Republic that a President had been elected on the first round.

Procedure

In accordance to 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 1,008 voters in order to elect a president, or 673 votes. Starting from the fourth ballot, an absolute majority was required for candidates to be elected, or 505 votes. The presidential mandate lasts seven years.

The election was presided over by the President of the Chamber of Deputies Nilde Iotti, who proceeded to the public counting of the votes, and by the President of the Senate Francesco Cossiga.

Candidates

Chronology

In the 1980s, for the first time since 1945, two governments were led by non-christian democrat Prime Ministers: a republican (Giovanni Spadolini) and a socialist (Bettino Craxi); while the Christian Democracy remained however the main force supporting the government.

With the end of the Years of Lead, Craxi cabinet was working to restore stability in the Italian politics. The candidacy of the christian democrat Francesco Cossiga, first proposed by the Christian Democracy leader Ciriaco De Mita, was sustained by all the parties which were members of the coalition government (the so called Pentapartito alliance) and also by the communist leader Alessandro Natta.

On 24 June 1985 Cossiga was elected President and officially sworn in on 3 July 1985.

Results

Francesco Cossiga the day of his inauguration with the Prime Minister Bettino Craxi
Candidate First round
24 June 1985
Francesco Cossiga752
Arnaldo Forlani16
Sandro Pertini12
Other candidates49
Blank papers141
Invalid papers7
Abstentions31
Total1,008
Source: Presidency of the Republic

References

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