At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Italy

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Giorgio NAPOLITANO
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mario MONTI
• 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.

Results of this election:

• In the first three rounds of voting on April 18-19, no candidate received the required 627 votes (qualified majority). After two more rounds of April 19-20, no candidate received the required 504 votes (absolute majority). On the sixth round of voting, on April 20, incumbent President Giorgio NAPOLITANO reached this threshold, receiving 738 of 997 votes.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 60,233,948 (2013)
• Registered Voters: 42,270,824 (February 2013 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 30,972,255 (2013)

·         Is Italy a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Italy ratified CEDAW: Yes (10 June 1985)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 179 (Chamber of Deputies); 86 (Senate) (following the 2013 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 27 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Italy a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Italy ratified CRPD: Yes (15 May 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 9,035,092 (est.)