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All 400 seats in theChamber of Deputies 201 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General elections were held inItaly on 26 March 1934.At the time, the country was asingle-party state with theNational Fascist Party (PNF) as the only legally permitted party.
Following a parliamentary reform enacted in 1928 by theChamber of Deputies andSenate, the elections were held in the form of a referendum. TheGrand Council of the PNF, now an official state organ, was allowed to compose a single party list to be either approved or rejected by the voters. The list put forward was ultimately approved by 99.84% of voters.[1] The overwhelming majority provokedBenito Mussolini to dub the election the "second referendum of Fascism."
These would be the last elections of any sort held under Fascist rule. In 1939, the Chamber of Deputies was replaced with theChamber of Fasces and Corporations, whose members were not elected but instead nominated by party organs.
In 1929 a concordat with theVatican was signed, endingdecades of struggle between the Italian state and thePapacy that dated back to the 1870 takeover of thePapal States by the House of Savoy during theunification of Italy. TheLateran treaties, by which the Italian state was at last recognized by theCatholic Church, and the independence of Vatican City was recognized by the Italian state, were so much appreciated by the ecclesiastic hierarchy that PopePius XI acclaimed Mussolini as "the Man of Providence".[2]
During 1930s Mussolini also led the armed local fascist militia, the MVSN or "Blackshirts", which terrorized incipient resistances in the cities and provinces and established theOVRA, an institutionalizedsecret police that carried official state support. In this way he succeeded in keeping power in his own hands and preventing the emergence of any rival.
AfterAdolf Hitler came into power, threatening Italian interests in Austria and the Danube basin, Mussolini proposed theFour Power Pact with Britain, France and Germany in 1933. When the Austrian 'austro-fascist' ChancellorEngelbert Dollfuss with dictatorial power was assassinated on 25 July 1934, by National-Socialist supporters, Mussolini even threatened Germany with war in the event of a German invasion of Austria. Mussolini for a period of time continued strictly opposing any German attempt to obtainAnschluss and promoted the ephemeralStresa Front against Germany in 1935.
As for the 1929 election,universal male suffrage was restricted only to men who were members of atrade union or an association, to soldiers and to members of theclergy.
The election was aplebiscite; voters could vote "Yes" or "No" to approve or disapprove the list of deputies nominated by theGrand Council of Fascism. The voter was provided with two equal-sized sheets, white outside, inside bearing the words "Do you approve the list of members appointed by the Grand National Council of Fascism?" The "Yes" ballot paper was decorated with the Italiantricolour and afasces, the "No" paper was plain.
The voter would be presented with both ballot papers, choosing one of the two and discarding the other in the voting booth. He would then fold over his chosen paper and present it to the electoral officials to ensure it was sealed. The process would not be considered free and fair by modern standards.
Theoretically, if the "No" option had won, the election would have been repeated with the admission of other electoral lists.[3]
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| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | |
| National Fascist Party | 10,045,477 | 99.85 | 400 | 0 | |
| Against | 15,201 | 0.15 | – | – | |
| Total | 10,060,678 | 100.00 | 400 | 0 | |
| Valid votes | 10,060,678 | 99.99 | |||
| Invalid/blank votes | 1,300 | 0.01 | |||
| Total votes | 10,061,978 | 100.00 | |||
| Registered voters/turnout | 10,526,504 | 95.59 | |||
| Source: Direct Democracy[4] | |||||
