Italy’s Chamber of Deputies gave final approval on Oct. 8, 2026, to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s overhaul of the national electoral law, passing it 227 to 164 in a secret ballot after months of opposition protest.
The law, known formally as the Stabilicum and called the “Melonellum” by its critics, gives a coalition that wins at least 42 per cent of the vote a fixed bonus of seats. Il Sole 24 Ore reported the bonus is 70 deputies and 35 senators, capped at 220 deputies and 113 senators.
The vote was the third reading, after the Senate amended the text. Euronews reported the government had won confidence votes on the first articles on Oct. 7, and Il Sole 24 Ore said the majority held together on the final ballot, although secret-ballot defections had sunk a preference-voting provision in July. ANSA confirmed the 227 to 164 result.
Il Sole 24 Ore said the system is proportional with a 3 per cent threshold. Voters can mark up to three preferences, starting from the second name on a list, and must alternate genders if they choose more than one. List leaders remain fixed by the parties. The signature requirement for parties without seats in parliament rises from 1,500 to 6,000, Euronews reported.
Meloni was not in the chamber, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. She said in a social media post that Italians “will be able to choose everything, even their MPs,” and that the centre-right coalition is “united, solid and determined.”
Opposition leaders rejected that account. Elly Schlein, secretary of the Democratic Party, said in her explanation of the vote that the government’s slogan was “Seats first,” Euronews reported. Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Five Star Movement, called the law “freedom-destroying and anti-democratic” and said it was “dictated by opinion polls,” according to Il Sole 24 Ore. Opposition members held placards in the chamber reading “Rigged law” and “No to the fix.”
Riccardo Magi of the +Europa party said the fight “shifts from Parliament to the courts.” Il Sole 24 Ore reported that opposition parties and a group called the Network for a Free and Equal Vote will hold a press conference at the Chamber at 1 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 12, to present a challenge before the Constitutional Court. The opposition has questioned the Senate majority bonus and the signature rules, Euronews reported.
Giovanni Donzelli of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party said the government would respect whatever the court decides. Reforms Minister Elisabetta Casellati said the law “upholds the provisions of the Constitution.”
No election date has been set. Euronews said the legislature runs until September 2027. Undersecretary Giovanbattista Fazzolari named September or June as the options, while Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the vote should come at the end of the term, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.
The law matters to Canadians with ties to Italy. Statistics Canada says more than 1.5 million people in Canada reported Italian heritage in the 2021 census. Italians abroad, including those in Canada, vote through overseas constituencies. The reports reviewed for this article did not say whether the new law changes how those votes are counted.
Via Euronews, Il Sole 24 Ore and ANSA.
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