Italy's coalition shelves runoff proposal in electoral reform bill

Runoff proposal shelved

Italian ruling coalition parties have stepped back from plans to incorporate a two-round runoff system into the draft electoral reform known as the Stabilicum. Forza Italia decided against lodging an independent amendment before the Senate committee deadline, averting a split with Lega. The only surviving second-round proposal is an individual amendment filed for plenary debate by Fratelli d'Italia Senator Marcello Pera. Pera's draft requires a runoff between the two leading coalitions if no bloc captures 48% across both parliamentary chambers, provided both contenders exceed 38%. Filing directly for the floor spared the government from delivering an immediate binding opinion in committee while giving coalition leaders room to negotiate.

On such a delicate and strategic matter, it is necessary to prioritize dialogue, coalition cohesion, and the search for shared solutions.

Coalition friction and thresholds

The decision to shelve the runoff followed resistance from Lega leader Matteo Salvini during a leadership meeting at Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's residence. Lega argued that a two-round model would undermine first-round useful voting incentives while giving momentum to external political forces, including Roberto Vannacci's movement. In parallel, Fratelli d'Italia filed an amendment lowering the minimum threshold required to access the parliamentary majority bonus from 42% to 41%. Crossing this threshold unlocks a bonus allocation of 70 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 30 seats in the Senate, designed to guarantee a workable governing majority.

Do not make me tie, because I will never govern with the Democratic Party or in other broad coalition formulas.

Agreement on preferences and small parties

Despite divisions over the runoff, the majority coalition presented a united front on voter preference rules. The parties submitted a joint amendment identical to the measure rejected by secret ballot in the Chamber of Deputies, maintaining blocked list heads while removing the 60 to 40 gender alternation requirement for lead candidates. Noi Moderati leader Maurizio Lupi described the push for preferences as a long-standing coalition priority. The coalition also altered the provision governing smaller alliance partners: the highest-polling party under the 3% threshold will contribute its ballots to the coalition total, while other sub-threshold lists must reach at least 1% for their votes to count toward the majority bonus.

Senate schedule and opposition pushback

Lawmakers registered a total of 697 amendments to the electoral reform bill in the Senate, with the vast majority submitted by opposition groups. The Green-Left Alliance tabled 300 amendments, the Democratic Party submitted more than 200, the Five Star Movement filed approximately 100, and Italia Viva presented seven, alongside eight unified centre-left texts. Opposition leaders criticized the government for altering voting mechanisms ahead of future elections.

Meloni reads the daily polls and tries to build a custom-made electoral law. Disgraceful.

Plenary debate in the Senate is scheduled to open on September 9, 2026, likely proceeding without a committee rapporteur. Coalition managers aim to conclude voting and secure final passage of the bill by September 15, 2026.