1993 Italian local elections

The 1993 Italian local elections were held on 6 June (with runoffs on 20 June) and 21 November (with runoffs on 5 December). They were the first elections conducted after the introduction of the direct election of mayors and presidents of provinces, a reform that brought a semi-presidential model to the local level (Law 25 March 1993, no. 81).

Alongside the democratic election of the heads of local administrations, the electoral system was also modified. A majority bonus was introduced, granting 3/5 of council seats to the coalition supporting the winning candidate in both municipal and provincial elections. In smaller municipalities – whose threshold was significantly raised to 15,000 inhabitants – a form of group alignment was introduced for the first time, albeit through civic lists. In these municipalities, the electoral system provided for a two-thirds majority bonus and a single-round vote. The overall number of councillors was also reduced; because councillors’ roles were separated from those of executive officials (assessori), municipal and provincial executives were effectively institutionally separated from the councils.

It proved difficult to establish a clear hierarchy among political parties on the basis of the election results, as numerous ad hoc labels and civic lists were attached to the coalitions supporting individual candidates. At a general level, the first round of the June elections revealed the strong performance of the Northern League (LN) in northern Italy, where it obtained around 40% of the vote in Milan. The Democratic Party of the Left (PDS) and the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) remained relatively stable—losing fewer votes than the Christian Democrats – while the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) virtually disappeared. In Milan, where it had been a central actor in public life for nearly a century, the PSI failed to elect even a single municipal councillor.

In the rest of the country, the former communist forces achieved considerable support, partly due to their ability to build effective electoral alliances. Centrist lists, by contrast, generally failed to reach the runoff stage, largely because of internal divisions. The centrist electorate therefore became decisive in the second rounds, both in contests between the Northern League and left-wing coalitions and in races between two left-leaning candidates. One notable example occurred in Turin, where the Northern League narrowly missed the runoff by 5,013 votes.

The autumn electoral round confirmed the success of left-wing coalitions, which prevailed in major cities including Genoa, Rome, Naples, Palermo, Trieste, and Venice. In areas where the Northern League was absent – particularly in central and southern Italy – the Italian Social Movement (MSI) achieved significant gains. The party benefited from the fact that it was largely untouched by the Mani pulite corruption investigations, and from the fragmentation of the political centre, especially the decline of the Christian Democracy (DC), which led many moderate voters to view the far-right party as preferable to the left.

In several large cities, political outsiders were elected as mayors: in Genoa a magistrate, in Trieste a businessman, and in Venice a philosopher. Elsewhere, mayors were elected who had never previously held national government office, such as in Rome and Naples. Particularly notable was the victory of Leoluca Orlando in Palermo, who won 75% of the vote in the first round.

Among provincial capitals, there were 17 victories for coalitions centred on the PDS and one for the PSI. Reformist or civic-oriented alliances won three contests, the Northern League secured eight, a local right-wing coalition won one, and the MSI obtained two victories, in addition to two further mayors elected under “lame duck” conditions (anatra zoppa, where the mayor lacks a supporting council majority).

In provincial elections, there were four victories for coalitions led by the PDS, four for the Northern League, and one province won by a local party.

The semipresidential voting system was the one used for all mayoral elections in Italy of cities with a population higher than 15,000. Under this system voters express a direct choice for the mayor or an indirect choice voting for the party of the candidate's coalition. If no candidate receives at least 50% of votes, the top two candidates go to a run-off after two weeks. The winning candidate obtains a majority bonus equal to 60% of seats in the City Council.

The election of the City Council is based on a direct choice for the candidate with a preference vote: the candidate with the majority of the preferences is elected. The number of the seats for each losing party is determined proportionally, using D'Hondt seat allocation. Only coalitions with more than 3% of votes are eligible to get any seats.

• 1993 Milan municipal election
• 1993 Rome municipal election