Senate set to approve new electoral law with majority bonus and preference votes
Lawmakers are expected to cast votes from 10 a.m. as the Senate considers a pure proportional system that grants a 42% coalition a bonus of 70 deputies and 35 senators, capped at 220 deputies and 113 senators. The reform also keeps fixed party leaders while allowing voters to select up to three names from a list of six. Gender balance rules apply from the second name onward, and a 3% threshold remains for parliamentary entry.
Today's Senate session will decide a new electoral framework that retains proportional representation but rewards any coalition that secures at least 42% of the vote with a majority bonus of 70 seats in the Chamber and 35 in the Senate, subject to maximum limits of 220 deputies and 113 senators. Parties must present a designated candidate for prime minister when filing their symbols and programs. Voters will continue to be bound to the party list leader but can also choose three candidates from a secondary list of six, a mechanism agreed upon after the Chamber rejected a related amendment.
The law enforces gender alternation from the second candidate onward and requires a 60-40 gender split among those elected via the bonus. A 3% electoral threshold applies, with provisions for coalitions that exceed a 10% share even if individual parties fall short. Additional rules address voting for citizens temporarily residing outside their registered region and for caregivers of severely disabled persons.
How this story developed
- Sep 11 Emma Bonino, veteran Italian rights activist and former minister, dies at 78
- Sep 11 Emma Bonino’s death was announced this week.
- Sep 13 The government announced a state funeral for Emma Bonino.
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