| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Il Parlamento / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Senato della Repubblica / Senate |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Camera dei Deputati / Chamber of Deputies
|
| LEGAL FRAMEWORK |
| Electoral Law |
6 February 1948
Last amendment: 12 November 2017 (Law n.165, Rosatellum bis) |
| Mode of designation |
directly elected 315
appointed 5
other 1 |
| Constituencies |
- 116 members elected in single-member constituencies, using the majority system;
- 193 members elected in multi-member constituencies, using the proportional representation system;
- 6 members elected in multi-member constituencies abroad, using the proportional representation system. |
| Voting system |
Mixed:
(Parallel System) using the List Proportional Representation (List PR, 199 seats) and the First-Past-the Post (FPTP, 166 seats).
The minimum thresholds for a seat in the Senate are based on regional voting results:
- for a political party: 3 per cent of the total number of valid votes in every region/constituency;
- for a coalition: 10 per cent of the total number of valid votes in every region/constituency.
Seats which become vacant between general elections are filled by the "next-in-line" candidate of the same party list. By-elections are held in the case of majority seats.
Voting is not compulsory. |
| Voter requirements |
- age: minimum 25 years old
- Italian citizenship
- disqualifications: criminal conviction, immoral conduct as defined by the law
Pursuant to Law No. 459/2001 and its implementing regulations (Presidential Decree No. 104 of 2003), Italians abroad meeting the above-mentioned requirements are entitled to elect 6 members representing the Constituency for Italians Abroad (Circonscrizione Estero). They can vote by post or in the constituency in Italy in which they are registered. Electors residing overseas and wishing to return to Italy to cast their vote must notify the relevant Consular Office in writing by 31 December the year before the normal expiry of the legislature or, if Parliament is dissolved early, within 10 days of the calling of the election. |
| CANDIDATES |
| Eligibility |
- qualified electors
- age: minimum 40 years old
- Italian citizenship
Candidates running in the Constituency for Italians Abroad must be both resident and qualified electors of that geographical group. |
| Incompatibilities |
- public posts (including the Constitutional Court judges and members of the National Council for Economic Affairs and Labour)
- executive of a State enterprise or State-assisted company |
| Candidacy requirements |
- signatures of between 1,000 and 1,500 electors (for independent candidates)
- signatures of between 1,000 and 3,500 electors (for candidates associated with a group having at least two other candidates in other constituencies of the same region) |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Electoral system module
