Reform introducing majority bonus seats and limited preference voting clears Palazzo Madama amid opposition protests, with a final vote in the lower house expected next month.Italy's senate approved a draft electoral law on Tuesday, sending the bill back to the lower house for a third and likely final reading ahead of next year's general election.The contentious bill, backed by the ruling right-wing coalition, passed with 113 votes in favour, 71 against and two abstentions.Opposition senators held up placards reading "No to the Scam Law" before the vote, and continued their protest in the chamber as the result was announced, news agency ANSA reports. A proportional system with a majority bonusThe reform, which the governing coalition calls the "Stabilicum" and opposition parties have dubbed the "Melonellum" after prime minister Giorgia Meloni, would replace the current mixed first-past-the-post and proportional system with one based on proportional representation. A coalition that wins at least 42 per cent of the vote would receive bonus seats - up to 70 additional deputies and 35 additional senators, capped at 220 deputies and 113 senators in total - to secure a working majority in parliament. If no coalition reaches that threshold, or the chamber and senate produce diverging results, seats would be allocated on a purely proportional basis instead. A national threshold of three per cent would apply for individual parties, with a "best loser" mechanism allowing one party below the threshold within a coalition over 10 per cent to still win seats. Limited preference voting restoredThe most significant change made during the senate's debate was the reintroduction of limited preference voting. Lead candidates on party lists would remain "blocked", but voters could express up to three preferences among the following six names on the list. The amendment, put forward by senator Marco Lisei of Meloni's right-wing Fratelli d'Italia party, passed on 10 September. Party lists would also need to alternate candidates by gender from the second name onward, and coalitions and parties would be required to name in advance the candidate they intend to propose to the president of the republic for prime minister - though the bill formally preserves the head of state's constitutional prerogative over that appointment. Higher signature threshold for new partiesOne of the most contentious elements concerns ballot access. Parties not already represented in parliament would need to collect 6,000 signatures per constituency instead of the current 1,500, meaning a party contesting the whole country would need at least 450,000 signatures nationwide. Parties with a parliamentary group as of 31 December 2025 would be exempt from the requirement. Political reactionsOpposition MPs argue the bonus-seat mechanism is unconstitutional and accuse the government of rewriting the rules because it fears losing next year's election. Former prime minister Matteo Renzi told the chamber the law "was born because you're afraid of losing, and you will lose," pointing out that Meloni had criticised similar blocked-list mechanisms in 2016. The centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) senate leader Francesco Boccia criticised both the scale of the majority bonus and the removal of full gender alternation among list leaders, saying the change would push women out of parliament, Open reports. Government parties defended the bill as a return to genuine competition. Roberto Rosso, of the centre-right Forza Italia, noted that several opposition parties had previously supported blocked lists and preference systems similar to those they now criticise, while Fratelli d'Italia's Andrea De Priamo said the law puts "everyone in a position to compete." What happens nextThe bill returns to the chamber of deputies, where a general debate is scheduled for 28 September, with detailed examination and a final vote expected in early-to-mid October, before parliament turns to the budget session. The chamber narrowly rejected a similar preference-voting amendment by a single vote in July, and electoral legislation can be subject to a secret ballot if requested by 30 MPs or a parliamentary group, raising the prospect of dissenting votes within the majority. The government is reportedly considering whether to attach a confidence vote to the bill. Should it clear the chamber, the draft law would go to President Sergio Mattarella, who by convention comments only once legislation has received final parliamentary approval. Photo credit: Alessia Pierdomenico / Shutterstock.com

Italy's senate approved a draft electoral law on Tuesday, sending the bill back to the lower house for a third and likely final reading ahead of next year's general election.The contentious bill, backed by the ruling right-wing coalition, passed with 113 votes in favour, 71 against and two abstentions. Opposition senators held up placards reading "No to the Scam Law" before the vote, and continued their protest in the chamber as the result was announced, news agency ANSA reports. The reform, which the governing coalition calls the "Stabilicum" and opposition parties have dubbed the "Melonellum" after prime minister Giorgia Meloni, would replace the current mixed first-past-the-post and proportional system with one based on proportional representation. A coalition that wins at least 42 per cent of the vote would receive bonus seats - up to 70 additional deputies and 35 additional senators, capped at 220 deputies and 113 senators in total - to secure a working majority in parliament. If no coalition reaches that threshold, or the chamber and senate produce diverging results, seats would be allocated on a purely proportional basis instead. A national threshold of three per cent would apply for individual parties, with a "best loser" mechanism allowing one party below the threshold within a coalition over 10 per cent to still win seats. The most significant change made during the senate's debate was the reintroduction of limited preference voting. Lead candidates on party lists would remain "blocked", but voters could express up to three preferences among the following six names on the list. The amendment, put forward by senator Marco Lisei of Meloni's right-wing Fratelli d'Italia party, passed on 10 September. Party lists would also need to alternate candidates by gender from the second name onward, and coalitions and parties would be required to name in advance the candidate they intend to propose to the president of the republic for prime minister - though the bill formally preserves the head of state's constitutional prerogative over that appointment. One of the most contentious elements concerns ballot access. Parties not already represented in parliament would need to collect 6,000 signatures per constituency instead of the current 1,500, meaning a party contesting the whole country would need at least 450,000 signatures nationwide. Parties with a parliamentary group as of 31 December 2025 would be exempt from the requirement. Opposition MPs argue the bonus-seat mechanism is unconstitutional and accuse the government of rewriting the rules because it fears losing next year's election. Former prime minister Matteo Renzi told the chamber the law "was born because you're afraid of losing, and you will lose," pointing out that Meloni had criticised similar blocked-list mechanisms in 2016. The centre-left Partito Democratico (PD) senate leader Francesco Boccia criticised both the scale of the majority bonus and the removal of full gender alternation among list leaders, saying the change would push women out of parliament, Open reports. Government parties defended the bill as a return to genuine competition. Roberto Rosso, of the centre-right Forza Italia, noted that several opposition parties had previously supported blocked lists and preference systems similar to those they now criticise, while Fratelli d'Italia's Andrea De Priamo said the law puts "everyone in a position to compete." The bill returns to the chamber of deputies, where a general debate is scheduled for 28 September, with detailed examination and a final vote expected in early-to-mid October, before parliament turns to the budget session. The chamber narrowly rejected a similar preference-voting amendment by a single vote in July, and electoral legislation can be subject to a secret ballot if requested by 30 MPs or a parliamentary group, raising the prospect of dissenting votes within the majority. The government is reportedly considering whether to attach a confidence vote to the bill. Should it clear the chamber, the draft law would go to President Sergio Mattarella, who by convention comments only once legislation has received final parliamentary approval. Photo credit: Alessia Pierdomenico / Shutterstock.com