Electoral law: centre-right quadruples the number of signatures required for new lists. Opposition claims the rule is discriminatory

With the issue of voting preferences now settled – at least for the time being – a new controversy has arisen regarding the electoral law, this time concerning signatures. To offset the removal of any vote threshold required to qualify for the bonus, the centre-right – in a move designed to combat ‘decoy lists’ – has quadrupled the signatures required from those not currently in Parliament (rising from 1,500 to 6,000 per constituency). A colossal task which – on balance – forces new parties, just to stand in the Chamber of Deputies across all 49 constituencies (the law requires them to stand in at least half), to submit around 300,000 signatures.

The Senate has approved the measure, contained in an amendment reworded by the FdI government, following a heated clash between the majority and the opposition. The initial proposal, which was then revised by the majority that morning, envisaged an even higher figure, proposing an increase from 1,500 to 9,000 per constituency. The opposition protested, describing the measure as “reminiscent of a South American regime, unacceptable and discriminatory”. The centre-right defended it, with FI recalling “the shameful cases of lists such as Forza Lazio or Forza Roma” and explaining that the aim is to target disruptive lists, whilst outside the Senate building, from Onorato to the PRC, all the potential candidates involved are up in arms.

The clash in the Chamber over this point before the vote is heated: the opposition parties try repeatedly to call for a suspension and a check on the quorum. Presiding over the proceedings is President Ignazio La Russa, who attempts to maintain order and, whilst outlining the measure (which is not tabled until the very last moment), also points out that the law provides for the number of signatures required to be halved in the event of an early election. More than one member of the opposition takes issue with his remarks, forcing him to clarify that he was simply quoting the law in force. A few hours later, however, the President of the Senate – who also denies any sort of clash with Giorgia Meloni over the handling of the reform’s scrutiny – returns to the subject of early elections. ‘A vote in September,’ he observes, ‘is unusual. If we do not want to vote in September, I do not rule out the possibility of voting a few months or days earlier.’ This is a recurring theme – despite the Lega’s rejection – in the arguments put forward by various members of the ruling coalition. And one interpretation offered by the opposition is that the process is being accelerated to avoid the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the electoral law.

According to the Democrat Dario Franceschini – for example – the Prime Minister “is tempted to rush the vote so as not to give the Constitutional Court time to declare various parts of the electoral law inadmissible, as they are manifestly unconstitutional”. This includes the provision on signatures, against which Elly Schlein promises “we will stand firm”. Meanwhile, Giuseppe Conte has appealed to the President of the Republic. ‘I call on the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, to block this provision, which is a disgrace,’ he emphasises. And on the day of the passing of Radical Party leader Emma Bonino, he observes that, under rules such as these, she would not have been able to enter Parliament.

Conte, incidentally, says he is ready to help the ‘smaller’ parties with their signature-gathering. And, according to some, he might even consider backing certain small parties such as that of Alessandro Onorato, perhaps by creating a sub-group within the Mixed Group, given that in this case the number of signatures required would remain the same as at present. After all, it is a truly prohibitive figure. ‘In the last election,’ observes the Democratic Party senator Dario Parrini, ‘there were 28 million valid votes nationwide. So, if you work out the 300,000 signatures required for the Chamber of Deputies, a party not currently represented in Parliament is being asked to collect a number equal to 1 per cent of the total votes cast by Italian citizens in the last election.” All of this has an impact that is perhaps even more severe in the smaller regions.