1865 Italian general election
# 1865 Italian general election

General elections were held in Italy on 22 October 1865, with a second round of voting on 29 October. It was the second one in the history of Italy.

## Electoral campaign

The Historical Right was led by the former Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia, Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora, a long-time general who fought during the Italian unification.

On the other hand, the bloc of the Historical Left was led by Urbano Rattazzi, a liberal politician who was between the founders of the Italian left-wing parliamentary group.

In opposition to the two main blocs there were a third party known as The Extreme, a far-left coalition, under the leadership of Giuseppe Mazzini, an Italian revolutionary and a key figure of the Unification.

On 22 and 29 October only 504,263 men of a total population of around 23 million were entitled to vote. Right-wing candidates emerged as the largest bloc in Parliament with around 41% of the 443 seats. They were largely aristocrats representing rentiers from the north of the country, and held moderate political views including loyalty to the crown and low government spending; the general La Marmora was appointed Prime Minister by the king Victor Emmanuel II.

## Parties and leaders

| Party | Ideology | Leader |
| - | - | - |
| Historical Right | Conservatism | Alfonso Ferrero La Marmora |
| Historical Left | Liberalism | Urbano Rattazzi |
| Historical Far Left | Radicalism | Giuseppe Mazzini |

## Results

| Party | Party | Votes | % | % of seats |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| | Historical Right | | | 41.2 |
| | Historical Left | | | 35.2 |
| | Historical Far Left | | | 3.5 |
| | Others | | | 20.1 |
| Total | Total | | | 100 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 259,035 | 95.26 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 12,888 | 4.74 | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 271,923 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 504,263 | 53.92 | |
| Source: Nohlen & Stöver |||||
