Italian government calls three confidence votes on electoral reform ahead of final secret ballot

Confidence motions in the Chamber

On 5 October 2026, Minister for Parliamentary Relations Luca Ciriani tabled confidence motions in the Chamber of Deputies on the first three articles of Italy's electoral reform bill. The government chose to invoke the confidence procedure to prevent legislative delays on the technical provisions of the reform. By calling confidence votes, the executive bypasses committee debate and amendments on the selected articles, moving straight to nominal roll calls after the mandatory 24-hour waiting period. The voting calendar follows the schedule agreed upon by the conference of parliamentary group leaders, announced in the chamber by presiding officer Giorgio Mulè. The legislative process involves consecutive votes over three days, concluding with a final vote on the overall measure on 8 October.

Core provisions of the electoral system

Article 1 modifies the voting system for the Chamber of Deputies by establishing a proportional framework with a majority bonus. Under the proposed rules, the leading political list or coalition receives 70 additional seats if it wins at least 42% of the national vote. The total number of deputies obtained with the bonus cannot exceed 220 seats, while pure proportional distribution applies if no party reaches the 42% threshold. The article also introduces preference voting, maintaining a blocked list leader while allowing citizens to cast up to three preferences for other candidates on the ballot. Article 2 extends this identical electoral structure to the election of members of the Senate.

Constituency adjustments and off-site voting

Article 3 revises the territorial boundaries of single-member Senate constituencies in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, covering Merano, Bolzano, and Bressanone. Although no amendments were submitted against Article 3, the government placed a confidence motion on the text because parliamentary procedures allow lawmakers to request a secret ballot on electoral mechanics. By contrast, Article 8 of the reform package introduces voting provisions for off-site caregivers, a change added during previous Senate debates. Because Article 8 does not alter the conversion of votes into parliamentary seats, secret balloting cannot be requested on its text. The caregiver voting provision advanced with unanimous support from both governing and opposition parties.

Parliamentary voting schedule and final ballot

The voting process begins on Tuesday, 6 October, with explanations of vote on the Article 1 confidence motion at 12:10, followed by the first nominal roll call at 14:00. Voting on Article 1 will take roughly one hour and fifteen minutes, after which lawmakers will present declarations on Article 2 around 15:30 before holding the second roll call. On Wednesday, 7 October, voting declarations on Article 3 start at 09:00, leading to a roll-call vote no earlier than 10:50. Deputies will vote on Article 8 by 13:30 before reviewing formal orders of the day between 16:15 and 20:00. The debate concludes on Thursday, 8 October, with televised final voting declarations at 10:30 and a final secret ballot vote at 12:30 broadcast live on Rai.