Electoral law, Senate committee rejects amendments and closes without mandate to rapporteur

The Senate’s Constitutional Affairs committee rejected on September 8, 2026 all the amendments presented by the opposition against indicating the prime ministerial candidate on the ballot, and closed the examination of the measure without conferring the mandate to the rapporteur (Fanpage; Il Sannio Quotidiano, from Adnkronos). We wrote about the proposal to indicate the prime ministerial candidate put forward by the President of the Council on September 5th.

The closure without mandate is not a minor procedural formality: it means that all the votes held in committee — including those on preferences, already approved in that setting — must be repeated in the Senate Chamber by open vote. The committee stage, in other words, does not consolidate anything: the preparatory work is transferred entirely to Palazzo Madama.

The Chamber was convened at 10 a.m. on September 9th for the general debate and for the vote on preliminary questions. The final vote on the text is scheduled for September 15, 2026. If the Senate approves the measure with amendments, the text will return to the Chamber of Deputies for a third reading, and the parliamentary process will not conclude with the date of the 15th.

The issues that the majority has not resolved in committee remain open. On the majority premium threshold, there is talk of a possible lowering from 42 to 41 percent, and the negotiation within the coalition also concerns the so-called anti-splinter-group rule, the mechanism intended to regulate the participation of minor lists in coalitions. The amendment on the runoff presented by Senator Marcello Pera has not been formally withdrawn, but it is considered nearly shelved (Headtopics, from ANSA). On the remaining room for maneuver, Fratelli d’Italia senator Andrea De Priamo noted that “the details can be adjusted right up until the end.”

It must be stated clearly what has not been confirmed at the time of publication: the 41 percent threshold is a negotiating hypothesis reported by parliamentary coverage, not an amendment that has been voted on; the final content of the anti-splinter-group rule has not been filed; and the outcome of the September 15th vote cannot be predicted based on committee numbers, given that the votes start over in the Chamber.

The starting framework remains that of the first reading: on July 16, 2026 the Chamber of Deputies had approved the text with 217 votes in favor and 152 against (Euronews). That margin measures the majority on a text that, on the points currently under discussion, may no longer be the same one the deputies will be called to vote on again.

Two dates have been set: the general debate on September 9th and the final vote on September 15th. That vote will determine whether the measure moves to a third reading in the Chamber of Deputies or concludes at Palazzo Madama.

Sources: Fanpage (parliamentary coverage); Il Sannio Quotidiano (Adnkronos); Headtopics (ANSA); Euronews (parliamentary coverage). Three independent sources.