Italian presidential election, 1978

Italian presidential election, 1978

29 June – 8 July 1978

1011 voters: 315 Senators, 8 Senators for life, 630 Deputies and 58 regional representatives 673 or 505 votes needed to win   Nominee Sandro Pertini Francesco De Martino Party Socialist Party Socialist Party Electoral vote 832 9 Percentage 82.3% 0.89%

President before election Giovanni Leone Christian Democracy Elected President Sandro Pertini Socialist Party

The Italian presidential election of 1978 was held in Italy on 29 June – 8 July 1978, following the resignation of incumbent President Giovanni Leone on 15 June 1978, because of the Lockheed bribery scandals. Only members of Parliament and regional delegates are entitled to vote. As head of state of the Italian Republic, the President has a role of representation of national unity and guarantees that Italian politics comply with the Italian Constitution, in the framework of a parliamentary system.

On 8 July, at the sixteenth round of voting, former partisan and President of the Chamber of Deputies Sandro Pertini was elected President with 832 votes out of 1,011, the biggest majority ever obtained.

Candidates

• Guido Gonnella, a former Minister and Deputy, was the first candidate of the governing Christian Democracy.
• Giorgio Amendola, a former partisan, was the candidate of the Italian Communist Party.
• Pietro Nenni, the former leader of PSI, was initially proposed by his party.
• Sandro Pertini, the elected candidate, wasn't voted till the last ballot.

Ballots

First ballot (29 June)

Sixteenth ballot (8 July)

Parliamentary elections of the Italian Presidents 1946 1947 1948 1955 1962 1964 1971 1978 1985 1992 1999 2006 2013 2015