2019 Abruzzo regional election explained

Election Name:2019 Abruzzo regional election
Country:Abruzzo
Type:legislative
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2014 Abruzzo regional election
Previous Year:2014
Next Election:2024 Abruzzo regional election
Next Year:2024
Seats For Election:All 31 seats to the Regional Council of Abruzzo
Election Date:10 February 2019[1]
Turnout:53.1% (8.4%)
Candidate1:Marco Marsilio
Party1:Brothers of Italy
Alliance1:Centre-right coalition (Italy)
Color1:0A6BE1
Seats1:18
Seat Change1: 11
Popular Vote1:299,949
Percentage1:48.0%
Swing1: 18.7%
Candidate2:Giovanni Legnini
Party2:Democratic Party (Italy)
Alliance2:Centre-left coalition (Italy)
Color2:EF3E3E
Seats2:6
Seat Change2: 12
Popular Vote2:195,394
Percentage2:31.3%
Swing2: 15.0%
Candidate3:Sara Marcozzi
Party3:Five Star Movement
Seats3:7
Seat Change3: 1
Popular Vote3:126,165
Percentage3:20.2%
Swing3: 1.2%
President
Posttitle:Elected President
Before Election:Giovanni Lolli (acting)
Before Party:PD
After Election:Marco Marsilio
After Party:FdI

The 2019 Abruzzo regional election took place on 10 February 2019. The election was for all 29 elected seats of the Regional Council of Abruzzo as well as the President of the region who, along with the second placed presidential candidate, would also become members of the Regional Council.

The ballot resulted in the election of Marco Marsilio, the centre-right candidate, as President of the Regional Council with 48% of the votes. Moreover, the League won a plurality of seats in the Regional Council.[2]

Electoral law

The candidate who obtains the majority of valid votes at the regional level becomes president. Every candidate must be linked to a party list or a coalition running for the regional council. A majority of 60% to 65% of the seats is then allocated to the party (or coalition) of the elected president.[3]

The election of the Council occurs on a regional basis within the four districts of Abruzzo, coinciding with the four provinces of the Region. The district of Chieti elects eight councilors, while Pescara, L'Aquila and Teramo each elect seven councillors. The President of the Council and the presidential candidate, who received the second largest number of votes, also become members of the regional council.

The electoral system is proportional to the share of the votes each party revives, with an electoral threshold of 4% of the vote for parties that are not members of coalitions and 2% for those included in a coalition.

Campaign

During the campaign, Marco Marsilio (member of FdI) was criticized for not being native to the region, with opponents accusing him of lacking knowledge about the specific regional issues. However Marsilio's parents are both natives of Abruzzo.[4] Members of the Democratic Party (PD) also accused the League of violating Italian campaigning laws, after Matteo Salvini posted a tweet calling on voters to go and vote for his party, during the period of time in which the electoral campaign is officially closed.[5] [6]

Parties and candidate

Political party or allianceConstituent listsPrevious resultCandidate
Votes (%)Seats
Centre-left coalitionForza Italia (FI)16.74
Brothers of Italy (FdI)2.9
League (Lega)
Political Action (AP) (incl. EpI)
Union of the CentreChristian DemocracyIdeANcI
Centre-left coalitionDemocratic Party (PD)25.410
Legnini for President
More AbruzzoDemocratic Centre (incl. AP)
Forward Abruzzo–Italy of Values (incl. PSI and CP)
Abruzzo in Common–Easy Region
Centrists for Europe (CpE)
Abruzzo Together–Future Abruzzo
Five Star Movement (M5S)21.46
CasaPound (CPI)

Opinion polls

DatePolling firmLegniniMarsilioMarcozziOthersLead
21–24 Jan 2019SWG30%37%32%1%5%
20–22 Nov 2018Quorum – YouTrend23%38%35%4%3%

Results

CandidatesVotes%SeatsPartiesVotes%Seats
Marco Marsilio299,94948.031League165,00827.5310
Forza Italia54,2239.043
Brothers of Italy38,8946.482
Political Action19,4463.241
UdCDCIdeANcI17,3082.881
Total294,87949.1917
Giovanni Legnini195,39431.281Democratic Party66,79611.143
Legnini for President33,2775.551
Abruzzo in Common – Easy Region23,1683.861
Progressives – Free and Equal16,6142.77
Abruzzo Together – Future Abruzzo16,0552.67
More AbruzzoDemocratic Centre14,1982.36
Centrists for Europe7,9381.32
Forward Abruzzo – Italy of Values5,6110.93
Total183,63030.635
Sara Marcozzi126,12520.20Five Star Movement118,27319.737
Stefano Flajani2,9740.47CasaPound2,5600.42
Invalid votes18,808
Total candidates624,482100.002Total parties599,356100.0029
Registered voters1,211,204 53.11
Source: Ministry of the Interior – Results

Voter turnout

RegionTime
12:0019:0023:00
Abruzzo13.42%43.00%53.11%
ProvinceTime
12:0019:0023:00
Chieti13.17%40.46%50.17%
L'Aquila13.01%44.56%54.70%
Pescara14.13%43.98%54.83%
Teramo13.45%43.96%53.84%
Source: Ministry of the Interior – Turnout

References

Notes and References

  1. Web site: REGIONALI: LOLLI FIRMA IL DECRETO, ABRUZZO AL VOTO DOMENICA 10 FEBBRAIO. AbruzzoWeb.
  2. Web site: Elezioni Abruzzo, i risultati: vince il centrodestra, Marsilio governatore. Lega primo partito, crollo M5s. 10 February 2019. Repubblica.it.
  3. Web site: Regione Abruzzo - Osservatorio elettorale - Normativa Regionale. www.regione.abruzzo.it.
  4. Web site: Chi è Marco Marsilio, il senatore Fdi che governerà l'Abruzzo. 11 February 2019. Repubblica.it.
  5. Web site: Right-wing parties win regional Italian election. Borrelli. Silvia Sciorilli. 10 February 2019. POLITICO. 11 February 2019.
  6. Web site: Io ce l'ho messa tutta! Oggi tocca a voi: dalle 7 alle 23, bastano 5 minuti del vostro tempo: una croce sul simbolo LEGA e vinciamo! #primagliitaliani pic.twitter.com/CRf93Rp8uf. Salvini. Matteo. 9 February 2019. @matteosalvinimi. it. 11 February 2019.