1886 Italian general election

General elections were held in Italy on 23 May 1886, with a second round of voting on 30 May.[1] The "ministerial" left-wing bloc emerged as the largest in Parliament, winning 292 of the 508 seats.[2] As in 1882, the election was held using small multi-member constituencies with between two and five seats.[3]

1886 Italian general election

23–30 May 1886
All 508 seats to the Chamber of Deputies of the Kingdom of Italy
Leader Agostino Depretis Silvio Spaventa Felice Cavallotti Party Historical Left Historical Right Historical Far Left Seats won 292 145 45 Seat change 3 2 1 Popular vote 804,187 399,295 123,958 Percentage 57.5% 27.9% 8.9% Swing 0.7% 1.0% 0.3%
Prime Minister before election Agostino Depretis Historical Left Elected Prime Minister Agostino Depretis Historical Left

The race

The Historical Left was led by the Prime Minister of Italy, Agostino Depretis, a prominent member of the Italian politics for decades. Depretis had been head of the government since 1881 and also from 1876 to 1879.

The leader of the Historical Right was Antonio Starabba di Rudinì, a conservative marchese from Sicily.

The Historical Far-Left was led by Felice Cavallotti, a famous Italian poet.

The Left emerged as the largest in Italian Parliament, winning 292 of the 508 seats, before the Right, which gained 145 seats.[4] As in 1882, the election was held using small multi-member constituencies with between two and five seats.[3]

Parties and leaders

Party		Ideology	Leader
	Historical Left	Liberalism, Centrism	Agostino Depretis
	Historical Right	Conservatism, Monarchism	Silvio Spaventa
	Historical Far Left	Republicanism, Radicalism	Felice Cavallotti
	Dissident Left	Progressivism, Social liberalism	Giuseppe Zanardelli

Results

← Summary of May 1886 Chamber of Deputies election results →

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	Historical Left	804,187[lower-alpha 1]	57.5	292	+3
	Historical Right	399,295[lower-alpha 1]	27.9	145	−2
	Historical Far Left	123,958[lower-alpha 1]	8.9	45	+1
	Dissident Left	71,632[lower-alpha 1]	5.1	26	+7
Invalid/blank votes		16,729	–	–	–
Total		1,415,801	100	508	±0
Registered voters/turnout		2,420,327	58.5	–	–
Source: Nohlen & Stöver

1. Estimate

Parliamentary seats Historical Left   57.5% Historical Right   27.9% Historical Far Left   8.9% Dissident Left   5.1%

References

1. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p1047 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
2. Nohlen & Stöver, p1082
3. Nohlen & Stöver, p1030
4. Nohlen & Stöver, p1082