1934 Italian general election
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All 400 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 201 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held in
Following a parliamentary reform enacted in 1928 by the Chamber of Deputies and Senate, the elections were held in the form of a referendum, with the Grand Council of the PNF, now an official state organ, allowed to compose a single party list to be either approved or rejected by the voters. The list put forward was ultimately approved by 99.84% of voters.[1] The overwhelming majority provoked Benito Mussolini to dub the election the "second referendum of Fascism."
These would be the last elections of any sort held under Fascist rule. In 1939, the Chamber of Deputies was replaced with the Chamber of Fasces and Corporations, whose members were not elected but instead nominated by party organs.
Background
In 1929 a concordat with the
During 1930s Mussolini also lead the armed local fascist militia, the MVSN or "Blackshirts", who terrorized incipient resistances in the cities and provinces and established the OVRA, an institutionalized secret police that carried official state support. In this way he succeeded in keeping power in his own hands and preventing the emergence of any rival.
After
Electoral system
As for the 1929 election,
The election was a
The voter would be presented with both ballot papers, choosing one of the two and discarding the other in the voting booth. He would then fold over his chosen paper and present it to the electoral officials to ensure it was sealed. The process would not be considered free and fair by modern standards.
Theoretically, if the "No" option had won, the election would have been repeated with the admission of other electoral lists.[3]
Results
Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
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National Fascist Party | 10,045,477 | 99.85 | 400 | 0 | |
Against | 15,201 | 0.15 | – | – | |
Total | 10,060,678 | 100.00 | 400 | 0 | |
Valid votes | 10,060,678 | 99.99 | |||
Invalid/blank votes | 1,300 | 0.01 | |||
Total votes | 10,061,978 | 100.00 | |||
Registered voters/turnout | 10,526,504 | 95.59 | |||
Source: Direct Democracy |
References
- ^ Italy, 24 May 1929: Fascist single list Direct Democracy (in German)
- ISBN 978-0-7456-4488-2.
- ^ Testo Unico 2 settembre 1928, n. 1993