Italian lawmakers have passed a controversial reform of the country's electoral system ahead of the 2027 national elections, a move opposition parties claim is designed to secure Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government another term in office.
The Chamber of Deputies approved the legislation on Thursday in a 227 to 164 vote. Under the newly approved rules, Italy will transition to a fully proportional electoral system. Crucially, the law guarantees an automatic parliamentary majority to any political alliance that manages to secure more than 42 percent of the total vote. Following the vote, Meloni expressed her support on social media platform X, writing that "stable governments and greater participation mean more continuity, more accountability and a greater ability to provide concrete answers to Italians."
Despite the government's assertions that the reform will foster political stability, some political analysts have warned that the strategy could backfire, potentially paving a clear path to victory for the center-left opposition in 2027. The final vote on Thursday was conducted via secret ballot, representing the only opportunity for coalition lawmakers to break ranks and vote against the measure anonymously. To prevent this, the government had previously shielded other portions of the legislative text by utilizing three separate confidence votes on Tuesday and Wednesday, which were conducted via open roll-call votes.
The threat of early elections reportedly played a major role in keeping coalition members aligned. Approximately half of the current deputies are serving their first term in parliament. If an early election were triggered, these lawmakers would likely lose access to their parliamentary pensions, which they only qualify for starting in mid-April. Opposition members argued that the administration leveraged this financial vulnerability to force reluctant coalition MPs to support the bill. This follows a setback in July, when roughly 50 coalition deputies used a secret ballot to reject an amendment regarding preference votes, which would have allowed citizens to select individual candidates. Meloni subsequently reinstated the provision in the Senate, where secret ballots on electoral legislation are prohibited.
Elisabetta Piccolotti of the Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) strongly criticized the government's tactics, stating that female lawmakers within the ruling coalition were "disappointed, angry, opposed to this law." However, Piccolotti claimed they were subjected to "essentially blackmail, with Giorgia Meloni effectively saying: if you vote against, we go to the polls the next morning." She also pointed out that the new rules are expected to reduce the representation of women in parliament, calling it "the first electoral law against women passed by a government led by a woman."
The newly passed law is expected to face immediate legal scrutiny. A network of constitutional lawyers and advocacy groups is preparing to file legal challenges in approximately 30 civil courts. These cases will be initiated once the law officially takes effect, which occurs 15 days after its publication in the government's official gazette. Italy's constitutional court last reviewed electoral rules in 2017, when it invalidated portions of former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's "Italicum" law but upheld the concept of a majority bonus for any political list that achieves 40 percent of the vote.
The law is likely to face a legal challenge. A network of constitutional lawyers and campaigners plans to file cases in around 30 civil courts once the law takes effect, 15 days after its publication in the official gazette, Ansa reported.
