1994 Sardinian regional election

The Sardinian regional election of 1994 took place on 12 and 26 June 1994.

1994 Sardinian regional election

12 and 26 June 1994
All 80 seats to the Regional Council of Sardinia 41 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	74.3%
Majority party Minority party Third party   Candidate Federico Palomba Ovidio Marras Gian Mario Selis Party Democratic Party of the Left Forza Italia People's Party Alliance Progressives PBG Centrist coalition Seats won 29 28 13 Popular vote 289,718 248,145 140,588 Percentage 42.7% 36.7% 20.7%
President before election Antonello Cabras Socialist Party Elected President Federico Palomba Democratic Party of the Left

The election took place under the provision of a new electoral law, which created a new system under which for the first time ever voters could express an indirect choice for the President through voting the candidate's coalition.

The election was won on the second round by the Progressives' coalition and Federico Palomba (PDS) was elected President of the Region for the 1994–1999 term. Although he didn't manage to win a majority of seats in the Regional Council, he was able to form a government with the external support of centrist and regionalist parties.

New electoral system

As had happened for the March 1994 national election, also in Sardinia a new electoral system was introduced. The proportional representation established after the end of World War II had been abolished and a new majoritarian system based on different pre-electoral coalition was introduced.

For the first time ever Sardinians were asked to choice directly the President of the Region. If no candidates received at least 50% of votes, the top three candidates could go to a second round after two weeks. In this case, the candidate who received more votes would have been elected President.

The election of the Regional Council was based on a direct choice for the candidate with a preference vote. Sixty-four councillors were elected in provincial constituencies by proportional representation using the largest remainder method with a Droop quota and open lists; remained seats and votes were grouped at regional level where a Hare quota was used, and then distributed to provincial party lists. Sixteen councillors were instead elected at-large using a general ticket: parties were required to group in alliances, and the alliance which received a plurality of votes elected some candidates, its leader becoming the President of Sardinia. Also in this case, the number of the seats for each party was determined proportionally.

Results

Candidate		Party	Coalition	First round		Second round		Regional seats
				Votes	%	Votes	%
	Federico Palomba	PDS	Alliance of Progressives	259,485	29.82	289,718	42.70	8
	Ovidio Marras	FI	Pole of Good Government	265,131	30.46	248,145	36.68	6
	Gian Mario Selis	PPI	Pact for Italy	133,286	15.31	140,588	20.72	2
	Massimo Fantola	PS		120,761	14.91
	Pasqualina Crobu	PSdA		59,277	6.81
	Gianfranco Pintore	SN		23,368	2.69
Total votes				870,308	100.00	678,451	100.00	16

Summary of the 1994 Sardinia Regional Council election results

Parties and coalitions				Votes	%	Seats
		Forza Italia	FI	195,206	21.1	14
		National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale)	AN	102,594	11.1	8
		Christian Democratic Centre (Centro Cristiano Democratico)	CCD	14,240	1.5	0
Pole of Good Government (Marras)				312,040	33.7	22
		Democratic Party of the Left (Partito Democratico della Sinistra)	PDS	168,062	18.1	13
		Communist Refoundation Party (Rifondazione Comunista)	PRC	55,156	5.6	4
		Democratic Federation (Federazione Democratica)	FD	48,404	5.2	4
		Democratic Alliance – The Greens (Alleanza Democratica – I Verdi)	AD–FdV	26,969	0.9	0
Alliance of Progressives (Palomba)				274,591	31.8	21
		Italian People's Party (Partito Popolare Italiano)	PPI	149,725	16.2	11
		Italian Republican Party (Partito Repubblicano Italiano)	PRI	8,467	0.9	0
Centrist coalition (Selis)				158,192	17.1	11
	Segni Pact (Patto Segni)		PS	85,721	9.2	6
	Sardinian Action Party (Partito Sardo d'Azione)		PSd'A<	47,000	5.1	4
	Sardinia Nation & allies (Sardigna Natzione)		SN	25,749	2.8	0
Total				903,293	100.00	64
Turnout					74.3
Source: Regional Council of Sardinia

References