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Italy parliament votes 227-164 for electoral reform
BBC News··4d ago
Italy's parliament approved Giorgia Meloni's electoral reform by 227 votes to 164. The law shifts Italy to a fully proportional system before elections due next year. Winning more than 42 percent of the vote brings dozens of bonus seats. Coalitions must name a joint prime ministerial candidate before polling. Opposition parties said the design helps Meloni's right-wing alliance keep power.
Prism
What It Means For You
- Future Italian ballots will no longer elect about a third of members by first-past-the-post.
- A 42 percent vote share can convert into a larger parliamentary majority through bonus seats.
- Meloni's term runs to October 2027, though she could bring elections forward to the spring.
What's Happening
- Meloni had warned she could resign and trigger an early election if the plans failed.
- Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein said the opposition would win under any voting system.
- After the vote Meloni said her centre-right coalition was united and cohesive.
How Meloni framed the reform
- Her coalition has governed since the 2022 election and last month became Italy's longest-running government since World War Two.
- The secret ballot was treated as a test of her authority inside parliament.
- Brothers of Italy, the League and Forza Italia make up the governing coalition.
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