Italy’s Chamber of Deputies gave final approval on Thursday, October 8, to a contested electoral-law reform backed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s governing coalition. The measure passed by secret ballot, 227–164.
The bill creates a proportional system with a conditional majority-seat bonus. The bonus goes to the highest-polling list or coalition only if it receives at least 42% of valid votes in each chamber, according to Reuters.
How the bonus would work
Under the reported plan, the qualifying list or coalition would receive 70 additional seats in the 400-member Chamber of Deputies and 35 in the 200-member Senate. The threshold in both chambers is central to how the reform would operate: finishing first alone would not qualify a group for the bonus.
The system is proportional in structure, but the seat bonus means it is not wholly proportional. Describing the proposal simply as a system that awards seats to whichever coalition wins the most votes would leave out the 42% requirement.
Government and opposition disagree
Meloni’s government says the changes are intended to make it more likely that an election produces a clear governing majority. Opposition parties argue that the bonus could distort representation and have vowed to challenge the law in the Constitutional Court. The available reporting establishes that threat, but not whether a case has been filed or what its outcome might be.
The vote was on the electoral-law bill, rather than a personal confidence vote on Meloni. Calling it a win for the prime minister is political shorthand for the passage of a reform championed by her government.
Election timing remains open
Italy’s next general election is due by 2027, but it could be called earlier. That is the expected timeframe, not a confirmed polling date.