Electoral law, the Senate rejects the preliminary objections and the majority holds the bonus at 42%

The Senate Assembly on September 9 rejected the four preliminary constitutionality objections presented by the Partito Democratico, Movimento 5 Stelle, Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra and Italia Viva: 100 votes against, 66 in favour, no abstentions. That vote opened the general discussion on the electoral reform (we wrote about this on September 9, when the text was still in committee).

The passage to the floor takes place without a mandate to the rapporteur, because the Constitutional Affairs Committee did not conclude its examination. The procedural consequence is that the amendments already approved in committee — including the one on preferences — must be voted on again in the Assembly by open ballot (Askanews; Fanpage). Senate President Ignazio La Russa acknowledged the submission of sub-amendments to the majority’s amendment first signed by Senator Marco Lisei, and addressing the Assembly asked members to “exercise listening” (Il Fatto Quotidiano).

The second development of the day came from the headquarters of Fratelli d’Italia, where centre-right sherpas met for more than two hours. Two points emerged as settled: the threshold for the allocation of the majority bonus remains fixed at 42% and does not drop to 41%, an option that had circulated in previous days; and the runoff, which had been included in Senator Marcello Pera’s amendment, is dropped (Open; Il Fatto Quotidiano).

One point remains open within the majority, however: the so-called “anti-cespugli” [anti-splinter-party] rule, which would exclude from the bonus calculation lists that do not reach 3% (Fanpage). This is the issue with the most direct arithmetic effect on how the mechanism works: it depends on that detail whether the votes of smaller parties in a coalition count or not toward exceeding the threshold that assigns the bonus. On this point, as things stand, there is no written agreement.

The two developments carry different weight. The vote on the preliminary objections is a formal act of the Assembly, recorded with the figures reported above; the decisions on the bonus and the runoff are the outcome of a party meeting, not yet translated into a voted text. Until the floor vote, this remains a position of the majority, not a rule.

The calendar is set: voting statements and the final vote in the Senate are scheduled for September 15 starting at 10:00. If the Assembly amends the text — and the need to re-vote the amendments already approved in committee makes such amendment procedurally likely — the measure will return to the Chamber for a third reading, whose examination is scheduled to begin September 28.

Meanwhile, the deadline for sub-amendments to the Lisei amendment opens the only remaining window for substantive intervention: anyone wishing to affect the 42% threshold or the clause concerning lists under 3% must do so there, within the floor examination in the coming sessions.