Italy passes Meloni's electoral reform in secret ballot

Italy's Chamber of Deputies on Thursday, Oct. 8, gave final approval, in a third reading and without changes, to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's electoral reform. It passed with 227 votes in favor and 164 against, in a secret ballot, according to Euronews. The Senate had approved it in mid-September. Only the president's promulgation is missing.

The government calls the law "Stabilicum"; the opposition has nicknamed it "Melonellum". It grants a majority bonus to the list or coalition that gets at least 42% of valid votes: 70 extra seats in the Chamber and 35 in the Senate, according to blue News. If nobody reaches that threshold, seats are distributed proportionally.

Agenzia SIR details the rest of the text: the bonus is capped at 220 deputies and 113 senators, and lists need 3% nationally, or 10% if they run in a coalition. Each must name its candidate for prime minister when registering its symbol. Voters will get three preferences on lists of seven names alternating by gender, although the top candidates on each list remain fixed.

On Wednesday the government survived the third confidence vote. Meloni presented the result as a sign of cohesion in her coalition. Elly Schlein, leader of the Democratic Party, said the law protects "those already elected" and not voters, according to Euronews.

A first attempt failed in July, partly because lawmakers from the governing side voted against the text. According to blue News, Meloni's coalition and the center-left are nearly tied around 42%, right at the bonus threshold, and the party Future National, led by Roberto Vannacci, stands at about 8%.

The opposition is preparing appeals to the Constitutional Court. It considers three points vulnerable: the bonus in the Senate, the fixed lists without gender parity and the worldwide constituency. There is still no date for promulgation or a schedule for those appeals.