| Election Name: | 2008 Abruzzo regional election |
| Country: | Abruzzo |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2005 Abruzzo regional election |
| Previous Year: | 2005 |
| Next Election: | 2014 Abruzzo regional election |
| Next Year: | 2014 |
| Seats For Election: | All 45 seats to the Regional Council of Abruzzo |
| Election Date: | 14–15 December 2008 |
| Leader1: | Giovanni Chiodi |
| Party1: | The People of Freedom |
| Color1: | 0A6BE1 |
| Alliance1: | Centre-right coalition (Italy) |
| Seats1: | 27 |
| Seat Change1: | 14 |
| Popular Vote1: | 295,371 |
| Percentage1: | 48.8% |
| Swing1: | 8.1% |
| Leader2: | Carlo Costantini |
| Party2: | Italy of Values |
| Color2: | EF3E3E |
| Alliance2: | Centre-left coalition (Italy) |
| Seats2: | 16 |
| Seat Change2: | 11 |
| Popular Vote2: | 258,199 |
| Percentage2: | 42.7% |
| Swing2: | 15.5% |
| President | |
| Posttitle: | President-elect |
| Before Election: | Ottaviano Del Turco |
| Before Party: | Democratic Party (Italy) |
| After Election: | Giovanni Chiodi |
| After Party: | The People of Freedom |
The Abruzzo regional election of 2008 took place on 14–15 December 2008, due to the early resignation of President Ottaviano Del Turco, after his indictment for alleged corruption.[1] [2] The election was to take place on 30 November–1 December, but was postponed because of legal issues over the ammission of the list of For the Common Good.[3]
The candidate of The People of Freedom (PdL) was Giovanni Chiodi, a former mayor of Teramo.[4] The PdL rejected any alliance with the Union of the Centre (UDC) and The Right in order to strengthen its goal of becoming a majority force free from the blackmails of small "old politics" parties.[5]
On the centre-left, local and national leaders of Democratic Party (PD) tried to produce a joint candidate with Italy of Values (IdV) and UDC, but IdV said that an alliance with the PD was possible only if the PD would have supported their own candidate, Carlo Constantini. IdV was even tempted by running a solitary campaign: Abruzzo was in fact a stronghold for the party, whose leader Antonio Di Pietro came from neighbouring Molise. However, in late October, the PD agreed to support Costantini at the head of a large centre-left coalition, comprising also the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC), the Party of Italian Communists (PdCI), the Federation of the Greens and the Socialist Party (PS).[6]
The PD tried to woo also the UDC in the centre-left coalition, but the UDC refused any alliance with populist IdV and decided to run its own candidate, Rodolfo De Laurentiis.[7] Teodoro Buontempo was the candidate of The Right.[8]
On election day Gianni Chiodi defeated Carlo Costantini. The election was a major defeat for the PD, while IdV had a very good result, despite the poor showing of its candidate, who won fewer votes than its supporting parties.
| Candidates & parties | votes | votes (%) | seats reg. list | seats prov. lists | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giovanni Chiodi | 295,371 | 48.81 | 8 | 19 | |
| The People of Freedom | 190,919 | 35.19 | → | 15 | |
| Raise Abruzzo! (Future Abruzzo–DC–LD–PRI) | 40,256 | 7.42 | → | 3 | |
| Movement for Autonomy | 18,040 | 3.32 | → | 1 | |
| Liberal Socialists | 7,753 | 1.43 | → | 0 | |
| Carlo Costantini | 258,199 | 42.67 | 1 | 15 | |
| Democratic Party | 106,410 | 19.61 | → | 7 | |
| Italy of Values | 81,557 | 15.03 | → | 5 | |
| Communist Refoundation Party | 15,435 | 2.84 | → | 1 | |
| Federation of the Greens–Democratic Left | 12,054 | 2.22 | → | 1 | |
| Party of Italian Communists | 9,955 | 1.83 | → | 1 | |
| Socialist Party | 9,387 | 1.73 | → | align=right | - |
| Democrats for Abruzzo | 7,507 | 1.38 | → | align=right | - |
| Rodolfo De Laurentiis | 32,604 | 5.39 | - | 2 | |
| Union of the Centre–UDEUR | 30,452 | 5.61 | → | 2 | |
| Teodoro Buontempo | 11,514 | 1.90 | - | - | |
| The Right | 9,597 | 1.77 | → | 0 | |
| Ilaria Del Biondo | 6,625 | 0.76 | - | - | |
| Workers' Communist Party | 2,018 | 0.37 | → | 0 | |
| Angelo Di Prospero | 2,791 | 0.46 | - | - | |
| For the Common Good | 1,237 | 0.23 | → | 0 | |
| Total | 605,104 | 100.00 | 9 | 36 |