The election system has changed in Italy: Parliament approves the new law

The approval process in the parliament for the controversial election law reform, which has been on the agenda in the country for a while, was completed today. The reform, which was previously discussed and approved in the House of Representatives in July, but was approved by the Senate, the upper house of the parliament, with changes in some of its articles last month, was voted once again in the General Assembly of the House of Representatives today.

The new election law draft in question was accepted and became law with 227 "yes" votes against 164 "yes" votes in the secret ballot held in the 400-seat House of Representatives.

During the voting on the bill, MPs from the opposition left parties protested the new law by holding signs saying "No to the fraud law" and "Fraud law".

While the right-wing parties that made up the Meloni government argued that the new election law would bring political stability, the opposition parties reacted to this law, which they described as a move to radically change the electoral system, and argued that the ruling alliance brought this law with the fear of losing the general elections to be held next year and with the aim of minimizing this possibility.

PREFERREDARY VOTING SYSTEM IS BACK

Prime Minister Meloni shared a post from the account of US-based company X after the election reform received final approval in the House of Representatives.

Stating that with the final approval of the new election law, Italians will be able to choose their parties, coalitions, prime ministerial candidates and MPs when they go to the polls again, Meloni said, "The center-right is giving back to citizens the power to directly elect their representatives, by reintroducing the preferential voting system that has been missing for more than 30 years. At the same time, we are introducing rules designed to promote the stability and parliamentary harmony of any government, regardless of its political direction. Because those who win the elections should be able to govern and those who are elected should be responsible to the voters who elected them." he said.

Stating that the new law means stable government, more participation and more continuity, Meloni noted that they responded to those who hoped for the division of the center right with this vote today.

CRITICISM FROM THE OPPOSITION TO THE NEW RULES

In her speech before the vote, main opposition Democratic Party (PD) leader Elly Schlein said, "Meloni is changing the rules of the game just a few months before the election. The truth is that you are afraid of losing. Your slogan is seats first. Change the election law, we will win in any case." he said.

5 Star Movement (M5S) leader Giuseppe Conte said, "You introduced the preferential voting system with great fanfare, but these are for show preferences. Let's not deceive the Italians. More than 80 percent of the members of the parliament for the next term will be determined by party leaders and sent to the parliament without allowing Italians to choose with their free will." made his assessment.

NEW ELECTION SYSTEM IN ITALY

The law that will introduce a new electoral system, prepared by the right-wing coalition government led by Meloni, will replace the current system in which the narrow district majority system and the proportional representation system are used together, with a proportional representation system that grants additional seats to the alliance that receives the most votes, provided that it receives at least 42 percent of the votes, in order to ensure that it has a workable majority in the parliament.

If no alliance exceeds the 42 percent threshold or if different results occur in the House of Representatives and Senate elections, a completely proportional representation system will be adopted.

The new election law envisages giving the alliance that wins at least 42 percent of the votes a 55 percent majority in the parliament, with 70 deputies in the House of Representatives and 35 senators in the Senate.

The new law also provides voters with the right to preferential voting (the voter will vote for a list of 6 candidates, with a maximum of 3 choices on the ballot when voting), as well as requiring the collection of at least 6 thousand signatures for a voter list to be eligible for election, and also grants the right of some voters (those who are outside their own constituency to provide care to a family member) to vote outside their own constituency.

According to Prime Minister Meloni and his coalition partners, the new election law will ensure that governments serve for 5 years, thus providing more stable administrations, reducing long coalition formation negotiations after the elections, and ensuring that whoever wins the election will come to power with a comfortable majority in the parliament.

The opposition left-wing parties opposed this order envisaged in the new election law, on the grounds that it would disrupt the balance of votes and seats and weaken the principle of representation in the parliament.