Riccardo Magi on the fifth day of hunger strike against the electoral law
The secretary of Più Europa contests the rule which quadruples the signatures necessary to present the electoral lists
Quick Look
Riccardo Magi, secretary of Più Europa, continues his hunger strike to protest against the rule that quadruples the signatures required for the electoral lists, defining it as an anti-democratic barrier that limits the political offer.
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Why It Matters
The contested rule requires the quadrupling of the signatures necessary to present a list in the elections. Magi argues that this limits democratic access and political supply.
"I'm a little tired, weak, but very determined. Tomorrow I'll see a doctor." This was explained by the secretary of Più Europa, Riccardo Magi, on the fifth day of his hunger strike "to ask for a change in the electoral law, in particular the rule that requires the quadrupling of signatures necessary to present a list in the elections, a truly anti-democratic barrier". "My objective - explains Magi - is to stir the consciences of the government and the majority. Until the very end I expect a rethink, a commitment to change this text. What would change if tomorrow they decided to make a change, to send the electoral law back to the Senate and to approve it, instead of by the seventh, by the end of the month? It is not a decree that is expiring. Let them find a way, let them choose the way to change this rule which is disgusting, which is not acceptable".
The hunger strike responds to the "need to signal, with all the possible tools of non-violence, that something extraordinarily serious is happening. The electoral law on the whole is crap. But there is a particularly odious aspect: the closure of access to elections.
It's a violent way of exercising power. This means closing democracy and is a problem for citizens, not for parties. Citizens have the right to support parties, and must be able to do so with the same tools with which they sign a referendum, therefore also with the digital signature, with the SPID. And they have the right to a broad political offer." For Magi, the alarm about the proliferation of lists is false: "In 2022 we reached the historic minimum of those admitted to elections: 23. Only in 1976 were there fewer: 21".
Open Questions
- What will be the government's response to the protest?
- Will the rule on electoral signatures be changed?
