Abstract
Autore:
Scaramozzino Pasquale
Titolo:
"Il voto di preferenza nelle elezioni europee 1979-1999"
European parliamentary elections provide voters with the possibility not only of choosing a list but also of expressing a preference for one or more of the candidates on the list they vote for, thus influencing their individual success m entering the European parliament. The number of preferences allowed to voters is not, however, the same in each of the five electoral constituencies into which Italy is divided: the number of preferences allowed is three in the North West, two in the North East, the Centre and the South, and one in the Islands. But while by law the electorate has available one to three preferences, in practice what occurs is, on the one hand, that not all take advantage of this possibility, and on the other hand, that not all take advantage of the multiplicity of preferences available in four out of the five regions. This paper examines the uses made of the preference vote in the five European elections held in 1979, 1984,1989, 1994 and 1999. In the course of the various elections the number of preferences expressed dropped, so that while in 1979 the number was 26 million 588 thousand, in the last election (of 1999) it was 17 million e 500 thousand. Thus, the "rate of preferences", calculated as the percentage relation between the number of preferences expressed and the number theoretically available, dropped nine points between 1979 and 1999, from 34% to 25.7%. Electoral behaviour in the use of the preference vote has varied according to constituencies and according to the list voted for. The preference is used less in the northern regions and more in the South and the Islands. There is also a variation in the distribution of the preferences among the candidates and there is a general attraction of preferences towards the candidates at the head of lists. The author concludes by expressing some doubts about the prospected abolition of preferences for the European elections of June 2004. In the author´s view, the choice of European parliamentary representatives is better left to the electorate than to party leaders
