Today and tomorrow in Montecitorio there will be a vote of confidence on the first three articles of the text, which have been modified - together with article 8 - in the Senate. The government's confidence in article 1 was approved with 226 votes in favour. The confidence in article 2 was also approved with 227 votes. The final vote on the reform will be held by secret ballot on Thursday 8 October, at 12.30pm. A mechanism that unleashed the anger of the opposition, who spoke of a "slap in the face of Parliament", "forcing" and "lack of discussion".
The electoral law reaches the final rush: today and tomorrow in the Chamber there will be a vote of confidence on the first three articles of the text, which have been modified - together with article 8 - in the Senate. In the early afternoon Montecitorio gave its approval for the vote on article 1. The vote on article 2 was also approved. Thursday 8 October, at 12.30, there will be the final vote on the reform by secret ballot. In the Chamber at Montecitorio, therefore, these are decisive days and Giorgia Meloni's government has tried to limit the risks of something going wrong to a minimum: the secret ballot - already requested by the Pd, M5s and Avs - is only foreseen on the final green light for the text. A mechanism that unleashed the anger of the opposition, who spoke of a "slap in the face of Parliament", "forcing" and "lack of discussion".
The passages in the Chamber
Yesterday the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Luca Ciriani, asked for confidence on three of the four articles modified by the Senate: they must therefore be revoted. The first two modifications concern the heart of the reform with the articles in which, among other things, the preference mechanism was inserted, the third a territorial redefinition of the constituencies of Merano, Bressanone and Bolzano. This is a point on which the opposition did not make any amendments but which could have been subjected to a secret ballot and therefore, to "avoid trouble", the centre-right has armored itself on that too.
What's happening today
Today, therefore, there are the first two calls, on Wednesday the third and then the vote (without confidence) on article 8, on which it is not possible to request a secret vote and therefore no confidence has been given. Thursday is the decisive day: final vote on the text by secret ballot. This morning the declarations of vote took place on the confidence placed by the government on article 1. Then he calls it by roll call: the Chamber of Deputies approved the confidence placed by the government on article 1 with 226 votes in favor and 147 against. Three abstentions. The article, among other things, contains the changes to the text made by the Senate regarding signatures and preferences with regards to the Chamber. This was followed by explanations of vote on the confidence placed on article 2 and the call by the deputies. Montecitorio therefore approved the confidence on article 2 of the electoral law with 227 votes in favor and 149 against. Three abstained. The article, among other things, contains the changes to the text made by the Senate regarding preferences regarding Palazzo Madama.
What happens tomorrow and Thursday
Tomorrow, from 9am, the declarations of vote on the third confidence vote placed by the government on Monday will begin and then, not before 10.50am, there will be a roll call from the deputies. This will be followed by the declarations of vote by 1.30pm and then the vote on article 8. At the end, and after the question time, the examination of the agendas will take place from 4.15pm until 8pm and possibly continue through the night. Then on Thursday 8 October there is the final secret vote: from 10.30 the speeches with declarations of the final vote and then secret ballot voting at 12.30.
