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 elections were held using small multi-member constituencies of between two and five seats.^[3]

1886 Italian general election

← 1882 23 May 1886 (first round) 30 May 1886 (second round) 1890 →
All 508 seats in the Chamber of Deputies 255 seats needed for a majority
Majority party Minority party   Leader Agostino Depretis Silvio Spaventa Party Historical Left Historical Right Seats won 292 145 Seat change 3 2   Third party Fourth party   Leader Felice Cavallotti Giuseppe Zanardelli Party Historical Far Left Dissident Left Seats won 45 26 Seat change 1 7
Prime Minister before election Agostino Depretis Historical Left Elected Prime Minister Agostino Depretis Historical Left

Electoral system

As in 1882, the election was held using small multi-member constituencies with between two and five seats.^[3]

Campaign

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.^[2]

Parties and leaders

Party		Ideology	Leader
	Historical Left	Liberalism	Agostino Depretis
	Historical Right	Conservatism	Silvio Spaventa
	Historical Far Left	Radicalism	Felice Cavallotti
	Dissident Left	Progressivism	Giuseppe Zanardelli

Results

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Historical Left			292	+3
	Historical Right			145	−2
	Historical Far Left			45	+1
	Dissident Left			26	+7
Total				508	0
Valid votes		1,399,072	98.82
Invalid/blank votes		16,729	1.18
Total votes		1,415,801	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		2,420,327	58.50
Source: Nohlen & Stöver