ROME — Italy’s parliament on Thursday approved a fiercely contested overhaul of the country’s electoral system championed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, ahead of national elections due by next year, BBC News reported.
Lawmakers voted 227 to 164 in a secret ballot to replace the current hybrid system, in which about a third of seats are filled by first-past-the-post contests, with a fully proportional one. A party or coalition that tops 42 percent will receive bonus seats — up to 70 in the 400-seat Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the Senate — which could turn a narrow win into a comfortable majority. Coalitions must also name their joint candidate for prime minister and publish their program before the vote.
Meloni had warned she could resign and trigger an early election if the reform failed. Opponents say it is designed to keep her right-wing coalition in power. “Go ahead and change the electoral law, we will win in any case under any voting system,” Democratic Party leader Elly Schlein said during the debate. Riccardo Magi of the More Europe party, who went on a hunger strike against the bill, called it an “anti-democratic law,” Al Jazeera reported.
“To those who hoped to see the centre-right divided, today we respond with facts: we are united, cohesive, and determined to carry forward the commitments made to citizens,” Meloni wrote on social media after the vote, according to the BBC. Her government recently became Italy’s longest-serving since World War II. Her term ends in October 2027, and the next general election must be held by Dec. 22, 2027, though it could be brought forward to the spring.
Sources: BBC News, Al Jazeera
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