Italy 1996 parliamentary election
What was the result of the 1996 parliamentary election in Italy?
Democrats of the Left won 171 of 630 seats. 82.9% of registered voters cast a ballot.
Italy- Held:
- Final result
- ParlGov, read 5 October 2026
Which party won the most seats?
Final results from ParlGov, read : Democrats of the Left won 171 of 630 seats; 82.9% of registered voters cast a ballot, down 3.2 points on 1994.
- Pole of Freedoms 0 0 seats 42.1% −4.3 points
- The Olive Tree 0 0 seats 34.9% +0.6 points
- Lega Nord 59 −58 seats 10.1%
- Communist Refoundation Party 35 −4 seats 8.6%
- Radical Party 0 −6 seats 1.9%
- Southern Action League 1 0 seats 0.2% 0.0 points
- Valdostan Union 1 0 seats 0.1% 0.0 points
- Democrats of the Left 171 +62 seats
- Forza Italia 123 +24 seats
- National Alliance 93 −16 seats
- Populars for Prodi 75
- Christian Democratic Centre / United Christian Democrats 30
- Seats won
- Change on the previous election at the right
- Share of the vote
- Share at the previous election
- Change in points at the right
Changes are against the Italy 1994 parliamentary election, party by party.
- Democrats of the Left171
- Forza Italia123
- National Alliance93
- Populars for Prodi75
- Lega Nord59
- Communist Refoundation Party35
- Christian Democratic Centre / United Christian Democrats30
- Italian Renewal26
- Federation of the Greens16
- Southern Action League1
- Valdostan Union1
Key numbers
+62 seats
Seats gained by Democrats of the Left
The largest gain in seats compared with 1994. Lega Nord lost 58 seats.
82.9%
Voter turnout
Down 3.2 points on 1994.
Seats and votes by party
| Party | Seats | ± seats | % | ± points | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pole of Freedomswith Christian Democratic Centre and United Christian Democrats | 0 | 0 | 42.1 | −4.3 | 15,780,752 |
| The Olive Treewith Segni Pact, South Tyrolean People's Party, Italian Republican Party, Democratic Union, Sardinian Action Party, Italian People's Party, Italian... | 0 | 0 | 34.9 | +0.6 | 13,097,169 |
| Lega Nord | 59 | −58 | 10.1 | 3,776,354 | |
| Communist Refoundation Party | 35 | −4 | 8.6 | 3,213,748 | |
| Radical Party | 0 | −6 | 1.9 | 702,988 | |
| Southern Action League | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 82,373 |
| Valdostan Union | 1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 37,431 |
| Democrats of the Left | 171 | +62 | |||
| Forza Italia | 123 | +24 | |||
| National Alliance | 93 | −16 | |||
| Populars for Prodi | 75 | ||||
| Christian Democratic Centre / United Christian Democrats | 30 | ||||
| Italian Renewal | 26 | ||||
| Federation of the Greens | 16 | +5 |
± is the change against the Italy 1994 parliamentary election, party by party.
Votes by party
- Pole of Freedoms 15,780,752
- The Olive Tree 13,097,169
- Lega Nord 3,776,354
- Communist Refoundation Party 3,213,748
- Radical Party 702,988
- Southern Action League 82,373
- Valdostan Union 37,431
- Democrats of the Left
- Forza Italia
- National Alliance
- Populars for Prodi
- Christian Democratic Centre / United Christian Democrats
- Italian Renewal
- Federation of the Greens
ParlGov lists parties with at least 1 percent of the vote or 2 seats, so the rows do not add up to the valid votes.
ParlGov counts an alliance's votes and seats under its first party: such a row names the allies it counts.
How many people voted?
82.9% of the 48,846,238 registered voters cast a ballot (40,496,438 ballots), down 3.2 points on 1994. 37,295,109 of them were valid votes. The lowest turnout of this kind in our data, which begins in 1946.
How do the votes compare with the seats?
- Lega Nord10.1% of votes9.4% of seats
- Communist Refoundation Party8.6% of votes5.6% of seats
- Southern Action League0.2% of votes0.2% of seats
- Valdostan Union0.1% of votes0.2% of seats
- Pole of Freedoms42.1% of votes0.0% of seats
- The Olive Tree34.9% of votes0.0% of seats
The Gallagher index of disproportionality is 47.6 (0 when seats follow votes exactly); the effective number of parties is 3.2 by votes and 6.1 by seats; Pole of Freedoms led The Olive Tree by 7.2 points of the vote.
Time and source Data as of