# 2006 Sicilian regional election

The 2006 Sicilian regional election for the renewal of the Sicilian Regional Assembly and the Presidency of Sicily was held on 28 May 2006.
The election was competed by three competitors: Salvatore Cuffaro, incumbent president and House of Freedoms candidate; Rita Borsellino, candidate of The Union; and Nello Musumeci, MEP elected for the National Alliance and now leader of the autonomist movement Sicilian Alliance. In the end, Cuffaro won the election, despite a heavy loss of support compared with five years before, when he was elected with 59.1% of votes.

## Candidates

Salvatore Cuffaro, 48, was first elected at the Sicilian Presidency in the July 2001 with 59.1% of regional votes; that election was held immediately after the national election which saw the centre-right win all the 61 Sicilian ridings. Cuffaro is a prominent member of Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, a Christian democratic party. Often associated to the mafia by his critics because of an open investigation by the magistrature of Palermo which brought to a trial commitment, Cuffaro was nevertheless head the regional UDC list of candidates for the April general election.
Rita Borsellino, 61, sister of the late judge Paolo assassinated by the mafia, gained the centre-left candidacy after having won a primary election with over 67% of votes against Ferdinando Latteri. She was not member of any party.
Nello Musumeci, 51, was a former member of the right-wing National Alliance party; he served as President of the Province of Catania from 1994 to 2003. He left National Alliance in September 2005 in order to found a new autonomist party, Sicilian Alliance, of which he was the leader.
Pollster claimed this election to be much closer than five years earlier, and majority of surveys even put Borsellino to lead over Cuffaro. However, Sicily confirmed one more time in the April 2006 national election, in which the House of Freedoms obtained 57% of regional votes, to be still a centre-right stronghold. The election was in fact characterized by separate contemporary votes for centre-right parties and Rita Borsellino as president, as the sum of centre-right coalition parties obtained over 60% of votes. In any case, the disjoint vote was not sufficient to ensure Borsellino to win the election, and Cuffaro was confirmed president of Sicily.

## Results

28 May 2006 Sicilian regional election results :
| Candidates | Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | Parties | Parties | Votes | % | Seats |
| | Salvatore Cuffaro | 1,374,706 | 53.09 | 9 |
| | Salvatore Cuffaro | 1,374,706 | 53.09 | 9 | | Forza Italia | 471,634 | 19.17 | 17 |
| | Salvatore Cuffaro | 1,374,706 | 53.09 | 9 | | Union of Christian and Centre Democrats | 319,349 | 12.98 | 11 |
| | Salvatore Cuffaro | 1,374,706 | 53.09 | 9 | | Movement for Autonomy – New Sicily | 308,219 | 12.53 | 10 |
| | Salvatore Cuffaro | 1,374,706 | 53.09 | 9 | | National Alliance | 259,927 | 10.56 | 9 |
| | Salvatore Cuffaro | 1,374,706 | 53.09 | 9 | | The Kite | 139,344 | 5.66 | 6 |
| | Salvatore Cuffaro | 1,374,706 | 53.09 | 9 | | Tricolour Flame | 8,528 | 0.35 | – |
| | Salvatore Cuffaro | 1,374,706 | 53.09 | 9 | | Christian Democracy for Autonomies | 6,530 | 0.26 | – |
| | Salvatore Cuffaro | 1,374,706 | 53.09 | 9 | Total | Total | 1,513,531 | 61.52 | 53 |
| | Rita Borsellino | 1,078,179 | 41.64 | 1 |
| | Rita Borsellino | 1,078,179 | 41.64 | 1 | | Democrats of the Left | 344,551 | 14.00 | 12 |
| | Rita Borsellino | 1,078,179 | 41.64 | 1 | | Democracy is Freedom – The Daisy | 295,762 | 12.02 | 12 |
| | Rita Borsellino | 1,078,179 | 41.64 | 1 | | United for Sicily (SDI–IdV–PRC–PdCI–FdV–Sicilian Spring) | 127,947 | 5.20 | 3 |
| | Rita Borsellino | 1,078,179 | 41.64 | 1 | | Rita – My Commitment for Sicily | 119,177 | 4.84 | – |
| | Rita Borsellino | 1,078,179 | 41.64 | 1 | Total | Total | 887,437 | 36.07 | 27 |
| | Nello Musumeci | 136,545 | 5.27 | – | | Sicilian Alliance | 59,380 | 2.41 | – |
| Total candidates | Total candidates | 2,589,430 | 100.00 | 10 | Total parties | Total parties | 2,460,348 | 100.00 | 80 |
| Source: Sicilian Region ||||||||||
Popular vote
FI
19.17%
DS
14.00%
UDC
12.98%
MpA–NS
12.53%
DL
12.02%
AN
10.56%
LA–LP
5.66%
UpS
5.20%
Rita
4.84%
AS
2.41% :
President
Cuffaro
53.09%
Borsellino
41.64%
Musumeci
5.27% :

## Sources

* The Independent (2006-05-30). "Sicily elects governor linked with Mafia". London. Archived from the original on 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2006-05-30.
* BBC (2006-05-30). "Prodi wins key cities in election". BBC News. Retrieved 2006-05-30.