The mechanism of primary elections was quite unseen in Italy before the 2005 regional elections, for which the left-wing alliance The Union delegate its potential electors to decide about the candidates as President of the Regions of Apulia and Calabria. Another kind of primary election was contemporarily held by the Left-Wing Democrats (that is, the biggest and most popular party of the left-wing alliance) for deciding instead which candidates to present for the Regional Council of Tuscany. The Italian Regional elections of April 3 and 4, 2005 were a major victory (11-2) for the centre-left coalition LUnione, led by Romano Prodi. ... The Union can refer to: Union (American Civil War) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Apulia (official Italian name: Puglia) is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. ... Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ... The Left-Wing Democrats (Italian: Democratici di Sinistra) are the main Italian left-wing political party, part of the Ulivo electoral coalition. ... Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ...

But, by far, the most important and successful primary election was held on October 16, 2005, when the Union asked its electors to decide the candidate as Prime Minister for the next general election to be held next year. October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... On October 18, 2005, Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi announced the next Italian general election to be held on April 9, 2006. ...

The right-wing House of Freedoms has never held a primary election to decide its candidates. Casa delle Libertà, or House of Freedoms in English, is an Italian right of center party alliance led by national media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi. ...

Legislative rules

There are no laws at the national level for ruling any primary election. Actually, the Union has always decided itself the main rules for its primaries; the October national primary and the Apulia one have been ruled in an open form, with any potential elector allowed to vote, whereas the Calabria one was in form of political convention. For this reason, people in Italy usually does not consider the primary election Calabria as a "real primary", and thus define the Apulia one as the first primary election ever held in the country. In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates. ...

For the October national primary election, the Union allowed even official immigrants with at least 3 years of stay in the country to participate the voting, as well as Italian citizens abroad.

On December 17, 2004, the Tuscany region approved a law (known as legge 70) which formally allows the parties to hold primary elections for deciding their candidates, proposing also a common regulation for how to manage them. As of today, the Left-Wing Democrats represents the only party which resorted these laws, on the occasion of the regional election of April 2005. The Tuscany region is the only one to have made up a kind of regulation for primary elections in Italy. December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Template:AprillCalendar Look up Aprill in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Future of primary elections

About the Union, after the great success of its national primary election of October, with over 4,300,000 voters, it is likely to imagine a larger use of this mechanism by the coalition for deciding its own candidates, even for the lowest political levels. In December 4, 2005, another primary election has been held in Sicily and won by Rita Borsellino, sister of Paolo and popular anti-mafia activist. Another primary election has been held in January 29, 2006, for nominating the next centre-left candidate as mayor of Milan, won by former city prefect Bruno Ferrante, with Nobel prize winner Dario Fo ended second with over 20% of votes. December 4 is the 338th day (339th on leap years) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sicilian disambiguates here; see also Sicilian language or Sicilian Defence. ... Rita Borsellino Rita Borsellino (born 2 June 1945 in Palermo) is an Italian anti-mafia activist, and sister of the late judge Paolo Borsellino, killed in 1992 by a car bomb. ... Paolo Borsellino (January 19, 1940 Palermo - July 19, 1992 Palermo) was an Italian anti-mafia judge. ... The Mafia, also referred to in Italian as Cosa Nostra (lit. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI in Roman) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... MILAN Type anti-tank Nationality joint France/German Era Cold War, modern Launch platform Individual, Vehicle Target Vehicle, Fortification History Builder MBDA, Bharat Dynamics (under license) Date of design 70s Production period since 1972 Service duration since 1972 Operators 41 countries Variants MILAN 1, MILAN 2, MILAN 2T, MILAN 3... Bruno Ferrante (born 1947 in Lecce) has been Milan prefect from 8 June 2000 to November 2005. ... Sir Edward Appletons medal Photographs of Nobel Prize Medals. ... Dario Fo Dario Fo (born March 24, 1926), is a left-wing Italian satirist playwright, theater director and composer. ...

On the House of Freedoms, adoption of the primary elections' method for choosing candidates was asked by the Democrats' Centre Union, especially for the candidate as Prime Minister to present for the next general election. But, after some discussion inside the coalition, the proposal, came out from (former) party's leader Marco Follini, rapidly fell down. Casa delle Libertà, or House of Freedoms in English, is an Italian right of center party alliance led by national media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi. ... The Democrats Centre Union or Union of Christian and Centre Democrats (Italian: Unione Democratici di Centro or Unione dei Democratici Cristiani e Democratici di Centro) is a political party in Italy formed by a merger of the former Centro Cristiano Democratico and Cristiani Democratici Uniti parties. ... Marco Follini (born on 26 September 1954 in Rome, Italy) is a Italian politician, and National Secretary of the Democrats Centre Union party. ...

List of most relevant primary elections in Italy

November 28 is the 332nd day (333rd on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... LUnione (The Union in English) is an Italian left-wing coalition of parties. ... In politics, a political convention is a meeting of a political party, typically to select party candidates. ... Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ... January 16 is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ... Apulia (official Italian name: Puglia) is a region in southeastern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Otranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. ... Nicola Vendola (born 26 August 1958 in Terlizzi, Bari), commonly known as Nichi, is a Italian politician and President of the Apulia region. ... February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... The Left-Wing Democrats (Italian: Democratici di Sinistra) are the main Italian left-wing political party, part of the Ulivo electoral coalition. ... Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ... October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... Romano Prodi (born in Reggio Emilia on August 9, 1939) is an Italian politician and a former President of the European Commission. ... December 4 is the 338th day (339th on leap years) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sicilian disambiguates here; see also Sicilian language or Sicilian Defence. ... Rita Borsellino Rita Borsellino (born 2 June 1945 in Palermo) is an Italian anti-mafia activist, and sister of the late judge Paolo Borsellino, killed in 1992 by a car bomb. ... January 29 is the 29th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI in Roman) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... MILAN Type anti-tank Nationality joint France/German Era Cold War, modern Launch platform Individual, Vehicle Target Vehicle, Fortification History Builder MBDA, Bharat Dynamics (under license) Date of design 70s Production period since 1972 Service duration since 1972 Operators 41 countries Variants MILAN 1, MILAN 2, MILAN 2T, MILAN 3... Bruno Ferrante (born 1947 in Lecce) has been Milan prefect from 8 June 2000 to November 2005. ...

See also

• Primary election
• Primary election of The Union

The examples and perspective in this article do not represent a worldwide view. ... LUnione (The Union in English) is an Italian left-wing coalition of parties. ...

External links

• ((Italian)) Illustrative file for the Tuscanian law on primaries
• ((Italian)) Repubblica article about the primary election of Apulia
• ((Italian)) Official website of L'Unione
• ((Italian)) Results of the National Primary of L'Unione
• ((Italian)) Sicilian Primary of L'Unione