After the end of World War II, when democracy was reestablished, the abstention rate has always been very low, below ten percent. However, Italian politics was hit by many corruption scandals in the 1990s, and resentment towards political institutions and parties grew. Hence, turnout progressively diminished and voters' disaffection grew. In general, European elections have always recorded a higher abstention rate than the general ones. In 2024, for the first time in the republican history, more than half of Italian voters did not cast their ballot.
Share of registered Italian electors who abstained in general and European elections from 1946 to 2024
Statista's calculation based on election turnout data provided by the Ministry of Interior.
For the parliamentary elections, data refer to the Chamber of Deputies.
The 1946 general election was the first free election after fascism, and voters elected the new Constitutional Assembly. Women were granted the right to vote for the first time.
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Statista. (June 9, 2024). Share of registered Italian electors who abstained in general and European elections from 1946 to 2024 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 09, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/864402/abstention-rate-in-italian-elections/
Statista. "Share of registered Italian electors who abstained in general and European elections from 1946 to 2024." Chart. June 9, 2024. Statista. Accessed November 09, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/864402/abstention-rate-in-italian-elections/
Statista. (2024). Share of registered Italian electors who abstained in general and European elections from 1946 to 2024. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: November 09, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/864402/abstention-rate-in-italian-elections/
Statista. "Share of Registered Italian Electors Who Abstained in General and European Elections from 1946 to 2024." Statista, Statista Inc., 9 Jun 2024, https://www.statista.com/statistics/864402/abstention-rate-in-italian-elections/
Statista, Share of registered Italian electors who abstained in general and European elections from 1946 to 2024 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/864402/abstention-rate-in-italian-elections/ (last visited November 09, 2024)
Share of registered Italian electors who abstained in general and European elections from 1946 to 2024 [Graph], Statista, June 9, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/864402/abstention-rate-in-italian-elections/
