The Italian monarchy was abolished in 1946 when King Victor Emmanuel III abdicated and was briefly replaced by his son. A referendum that same year voted to replace the monarchy with a republic by a margin of 12 million to 10 million votes, with the south generally supporting the king and the north supporting the republic. A constituent assembly was then elected and drafted a new constitution, which came into effect on January 1, 1948 and allowed for elections of a new parliamentary government.