Evening star., 1946-06-03
Both Sides Predict
Victory in Italy as
Polling Continues
By the Associated prsss

ROME, June 3.-Both Repub-
licans and Royalists predicted
victory by comfortable margins
today as Italy completed a pleb-
iscite which will determine
whether the nation is to be a
monarchy or a republic.
The official verdict will not be
announced until after Friday, but
the first unofficial returns on the
referendum and the concurrent con-
stituent assembly elections are ex-
pected soon after the polls close at
noon today.
I'VE polled so to s. per cent of
the vote" said Randolfo Pacciardi,
Republican leader, concerning the
Referendum. However, he conceded
that the House of Savoy's home
stretch campaign of last week had
cut down Republican chances for a
more sweeping victory.
A highly placed Monarchist esti-
mated that King Umberto would be
upheld by at least go per cent of
the voters IF the balloting was reg
ular." He declared that several in
stances already had been reported
of irregularity at the polls.
Important Assembly Vote.
While the clear-cut plebiscite is
sue between the monarchy and the
republic overshadowed voting for the
Assembly, observers regarded the
latter as equally, If not more i'm
portant, since the outcome would
indicate the extent of Italys politi-
cal swing, either to the right or left.
King Umberto voted about IS min
utes before the polls closed. A small
crowd of last-minute voters cheered
the King as he entered and left the
polling place in the fashionable Pa
rioli section. Umberto, bareheaded
and wearing double breasted gray
suit, was accompanied by Falcone
Lucifero, minister of the royal house.
hold and his campaign manager.
There was . minimum of police pre-
cautions.
Lucifero told newsmen he had
reason to believe" the King turned
the blank ballots both on the refer
endum and the Assembly election.
The King. he said, was above every
passion and absolutely objective"
There still were long lines of
voters waiting before many Rome
polling places at midmorning today,
and election officials were instructed
to keep the booths open until all
those in line had voted.
50 to 70 Per Cent Of Voters Turn Out
Italian news agency dispatches
estimated late last night that IS to
10 per cent OF the country's 28,OO0,-
600 voters had turned out yesterday
Minister of the Interior Giuseppe
Romita described the balloting as
! perfectly free of incidents"
! Only one election death was re-
ported and that was accidental. A
voter waiting in line at polling
both near Viterbo was killed when
the firearm of policeman with
whom he was talking went OF.
Eight persons were injured, two
seriously, when a platform collapsed
under group of voters at Venasca
An Action party candidate for the
Assembly, Edwardo Fallaci. was bad
ly injured in a highway accident
near Florence.
| Police at Milan and one or two
other places reported that even COM
mon crimes were fewer unan usual.
| A dispatch from Trento in the
Lower Tyrol said member of the
South Tyrol Peoples party. which
seeks the return of the region to
Austria, abstained from voting on
orders of party leaders.
Umberto's chances were believed
by observers to have been strength
ened by an eleventh-ho appeal to
Italy's voters to keep him on the
throne, promising a new plebiscite
Immediately after the 556-member
Constituent Assembly has completed
Its draft of a constitution.
Eleven parties had nationwide
tickets in the field for the Constitu-
ent Assembly OF these the princi-
pal parties were those represented
in the six-party coalition govern
ment of Premier Alcide de Gasperi
head Of the powerful Christian
Democratic party. His government
also includes the Socialists, Com
munists, Liberals, Labor Democrats
and the Action Party.