Italian Senate approves Stabilicum electoral reform bill with 113 votes

Senate approval and core mechanics

The Italian Senate approved the centre-right coalition's electoral reform bill, known as the "Stabilicum", on 15 September 2026 with 113 votes in favour, 71 against, and two abstentions. The legislation establishes a proportional representation framework paired with a fixed majority bonus for the leading coalition or party that secures at least 42% of the vote across both chambers of parliament. If a coalition meets that threshold in both branches, it receives an allotment of 70 additional deputies and 35 senators, subject to a cap of 220 total seats in the 400-seat Chamber of Deputies and 113 seats in the 200-seat Senate. Should no coalition surpass 42%, or if voting results diverge between the two houses, seats are distributed through pure proportional representation.

Ballot structure and qualification rules

The reform eliminates single-member constituencies and replaces fully closed lists with a mixed selection mechanism. Ballots will feature a blocked list leader positioned at the top of a seven-candidate slate, followed by six candidates for whom voters can cast up to three preferential votes with alternating choices. Unlike the preceding Rosatellum law, the text omits a 60-to-40 gender quota for list leaders. Parties must also designate their prime ministerial nominee and deposit their governing programme when registering their electoral symbols, while preserving presidential appointment powers under Article 92 and the absence of binding mandates under Article 67 of the Italian Constitution. For non-parliamentary movements, the minimum signature threshold required to field candidates in each constituency increases from 1,500 to 6,000, bringing the national total near 400,000 signatures after the majority rejected digital signature collection via SPID.

Opposition contestation and seat allocation

Opposition parties protested throughout the Senate debate, displaying yellow and red signs inside the chamber reading "No to the fraud law" before party whips removed them. Critics and electoral analysts noted that the combination of blocked constituency leaders and the 70-seat national bonus list allocates direct control of more than 66% of parliamentary seats to party secretariats. Democratic Party Senate leader Francesco Boccia condemned the structure during floor debates.

It is a law born out of the fear of losing, with the obsession of turning a minority of votes into an enormous parliamentary majority.

Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi challenged the government's stated objectives during the final vote explanations.

You are not changing the electoral law for stability, but because in the next round you seriously risk losing.

Chamber scheduling and confidence vote debate

The bill now returns to the Chamber of Deputies for its third and final reading, with floor debates scheduled to begin on 28 September 2026. Because previous amendments on preference voting were defeated in Montecitorio during secret ballots, the government is assessing whether to attach a formal confidence vote to the legislation. Senate President Ignazio La Russa rejected claims that the reform benefits the ruling coalition.

This law, in the end, gives everyone the opportunity to compete. Nobody is favored. It makes whoever gets one more vote win.

Minister for Parliamentary Relations Luca Ciriani confirmed that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's cabinet will review its legislative procedure before the text reaches the lower house.

Regarding the confidence vote in the Chamber, the government will decide in due time whether it is appropriate to call it or not.