The Senate approved the electoral law reform with 113 votes in favor, 71 against, and two abstentions. The bill, which came from the Chamber of Deputies, was amended by the Senate and now returns to Montecitorio for a third reading.
Opposition members protested in the chamber during the vote declarations. Center-left senators held signs reading: "No to the fraudulent law."
Among the changes proposed and approved in the Senate by the majority, with the opposition rejecting, was the introduction of the three-preference mechanism and blocked list leaders in Article 1. The Democratic Party's proposal to instead introduce "pure" preferences was rejected. Another change, also in Article 1, is the modification of the anti-bush rule. The requirement of a 3% percentage for a list's votes to contribute to the majority bonus, which had been introduced in the Chamber, has been eliminated.
The same amendment increases the number of signatures required to run for office for political forces not represented in Parliament: from a minimum of 6,000 to a maximum of 7,000 signatures per constituency (currently 1,500).
Furthermore, the extension of voting rights to family caregivers living away from home for those caring for a family member or child in a facility outside the Region was introduced. However, after intense debate within the majority, the idea of introducing a runoff election was abandoned: the amendment presented in the Chamber by Marcello Pera (FdI) was withdrawn.
(Unioneonline)
