# 2005 Apulian regional election

The Apulian regional election of 2005 took place on 3–4 April 2005.
Nichi Vendola (Communist Refoundation Party) defeated incumbent Raffaele Fitto (Forza Italia). The success of Vendola came somewhat unexpected. In a Southern Italian Region, expected to be morally conservative, Vendola, a communist and homosexual, defeated Fitto, a conservative Christian democrat. Vendola was the first candidate ever to be appointed by its coalition through a primary election instead of agreements between parties. A defeat of Vendola might have resulted in a cancellation of the primary election of The Union for choosing the candidate for Prime Minister in the 2006 general election.

## Centre-left primary election

The centre-left candidate was chosen through primary elections, which were won by surprise by Nichi Vendola.
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Nichi Vendola | PRC | 40,358 | 50.9 |
| | Francesco Boccia | DL | 38,676 | 49.1 |
| Total | Total | Total | 79,034 | 100.0 |

## Results

3–4 April 2005 Apulian regional election results :
| Candidates | Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | Parties | Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Democrats of the Left | 356,369 | 16.63 | 14 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy | 208,806 | 9.74 | 8 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Communist Refoundation Party | 109,146 | 5.09 | 4 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Italian Democratic Socialists | 86,096 | 4.01 | 3 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Union of Democrats for Europe | 70,293 | 3.28 | 3 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | The Apulian Spring | 55,335 | 2.58 | 3 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Party of Italian Communists | 48,141 | 2.24 | 2 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Autonomist Socialists – PSDI – MRE | 47,511 | 2.22 | 2 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Italy of Values | 38,120 | 1.78 | 1 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Federation of the Greens | 33,309 | 1.55 | 1 |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | United Democratic Christians | 8,397 | 0.39 | – |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | | Pensioners' Party | 3,959 | 0.18 | – |
| | Nichi Vendola | 1,165,536 | 49.84 | 1 | Total | Total | 1,065,752 | 49.69 | 41 |
| | Raffaele Fitto | 1,151,405 | 49.24 | 1 |
| | Raffaele Fitto | 1,151,405 | 49.24 | 1 | | Forza Italia | 381,663 | 17.80 | 10 |
| | Raffaele Fitto | 1,151,405 | 49.24 | 1 | | National Alliance | 259,563 | 12.10 | 7 |
| | Raffaele Fitto | 1,151,405 | 49.24 | 1 | | Apulia First of All | 196,281 | 9.15 | 5 |
| | Raffaele Fitto | 1,151,405 | 49.24 | 1 | | Union of Christian and Centre Democrats | 167,038 | 7.79 | 4 |
| | Raffaele Fitto | 1,151,405 | 49.24 | 1 | | New PSI – PRI | 48,109 | 2.24 | 1 |
| | Raffaele Fitto | 1,151,405 | 49.24 | 1 | | Social Idea Movement | 10,099 | 0.47 | – |
| | Raffaele Fitto | 1,151,405 | 49.24 | 1 | Total | Total | 1.062.753 | 49.55 | 27 |
| | Gianfelice Galassi | 10,973 | 0.47 | – | | Social Alternative | 9,368 | 0.44 | – |
| | Luca Scalabrini | 10,477 | 0.45 | – | | Christian Democracy | 6,791 | 0.32 | – |
| Total candidates | Total candidates | 2,338,391 | 100.00 | 2 | Total parties | Total parties | 2,144,664 | 100.00 | 68 |
| Source: Ministry of the Interior – Historical Archive of Elections ||||||||||