CONTESTED BALLOTS IN ITALIAN 1953 ELECTIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79R00890A000200020037-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 16, 1999
• Sequence Number: 37
• Publication Date: December 22, 1953
• Content Type: MEMO

NO. &l ?I ~~ ~V V ~C ` ~~
d For Release 2000/08/29 :CIA- DP79R00890A000200020037-3
ILLEGIB ce Me~no~~ndunz UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
7ro : Assistant Director, Current Intelligence DAB: _~~ ~~?mh?~' ~ X53
FROM Chief, Western Division
su8~ac~: Contested ballots in Italian 1953 elections
A. Approxiriately 1,304,000 ballots in the election of
?-8 June were challenged by poll watchers as invalid for
any one of several reasons - writing of any kind on ballot,
failure to designate party as well as candidates, handing
in blank ba.liot, using ballot not having an official
stamp, etc.
Examination of ballots by Chamber special
committee is not yet complete but findings to
date show that between 436,000 and 590,000 were
invalid a.nd that from 700.,000 to X60,000 have
to be recounted.
Of this latter number, at least 100,000 have
been recounted so far, according tv a reliable
source, with the trend three to one in favor
of the center electoral bloc of pasties.,
If "this is so, center parties gained more than
50 percent of the votes, y.,...-~#.~~se~__,~arch
--=-~-- 19~r3 --e I.~?~-taxes}~.. l.a~z_. ma.7~ e e n t,,, d ,, ~t~.:,,s twa~.t h~.r ds
o~?-~i~?ab'e r''s~w-yes:
25X1X
late in~November as to why .center parties were concealing
their victory , s t a.t e d t-ke--#--h~-t~i-~a-n"{~.Ira.~d?~ t
krtow"?whxt__-~o-y-_d$?~~vi-th hef ..~.a~,aa~~--~-l~ts..,~1~~-?~ined.
ILLEGIB
To present,. to parliament would cause a
chaotic situation in that body and necessitate
new electio
s
n
.
~~ ~~
~. a announcet ~ the victory woa~ld be a.
good device for dissolving Chamber,-~ would only
be a. device ~ i~e~t-h~a-n ~~~,~t-he-?~Ss-t~ia.n
~~~ ~ ~~~~~~~ i^ - {~rl.~ would have to be develo ed
~" p
e. ~. 7.... 1 L _:. Y.. ~ . 7 .. ~...S _. __ _. ___. __ i t_ ___~_ ~ _
Approved For Release 2000/
890A000200020037-3
 ' Approved For Release 2000/08~~~~DP79R00890A0002000?0037-3
tp~~ ara
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whole issue of the'{'~~-~vr~~ai~ " ~#~:
t articularly in
view of current efforts to repeal ~.. t ~~ ~ ~ 1 ~ ~.~
It is possible that the slowness of recount may be
due to general apprehension of the major parties over
results and to the center parties' reluctance to bring
up issue of the unpopular swindling law.
Problem of rea.lloca.ting seats virtually insoluble
and new elections probably only solution.
. Parties in general do not want new elections.
~. They would be expensive.
'~? Center fears extremes of left a.nd right
might gain.
Fear that unseating Communist deputies
might induce violence by extreme left.
Recount favoring center parties might call into
question legality of present parliament's legis-
lation.
~3ills are now in parliament to repeal the
29 March 1953 electoral law. If this is done,
the recount would have little real meaning.
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Approved For Release 200 _ 0890A000200020037-3