IFES Election Guide - Country Profile: Italy

Country Profile:

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Region

Italy
Italian Republic
Region: Europe

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Giorgio NAPOLITANO
Head of Government: Prime Minister Enrico LETTA
Assembly: Italy has a bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consisting of the Senate (Senato della Repubblica) with 322 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) with 630 seats.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by an electoral college to serve a 7-year term.
Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
In the Senate (Senato della Repubblica), 315 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms, 5 members are elected by the President and 2 members are filled ex officio*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) 630 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.**

* Thresholds apply at the regional level, and seats are allocated regionally. The thresholds are: 20% for any pre-election coalition, 3% for any party within a coalition, and 8% for any party not in coalition. Within a coalition, seats are allocated to parties in proportion to their vote shares.

** Lists are closed. Once national thresholds are met, seats are allocated to parties on a regional basis. The thresholds are: 10% for any pre-election coalition, 2% for any party within a pre-election coalition, and 4% for any party not in coalition. The pre-election coalition winning a plurality of votes is guaranteed 340 seats. Within a coalition, seats are allocated to parties in proportion to their vote shares.