Meloni set on pushing ahead with electoral reform despite parliamentary setback

Italy’s ruling coalition revealed it would continue pursuing electoral reform despite the fresh defeat of a key element of the proposal in parliament.

A secret ballot cast on July 14 rejected a proposal by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party to allow voters to cast preference votes for individual candidates on party lists. The measure failed in part because around 30 lawmakers from the governing coalition did not support it, as Caliber.Az reports citing Reuters.

According to the news agency, the vote marks another significant setback for Meloni, following the failure of a judicial reform referendum in March.

The governing coalition, which includes Brothers of Italy, the League, and Forza Italia, has proposed replacing the current electoral system with a fully proportional model that includes a majority bonus, guaranteeing control of parliament to any coalition receiving more than 42% of the vote.

Under Italy’s current electoral system, roughly one-third of lawmakers are elected in single-member constituencies under a majoritarian system, while the remainder are chosen through proportional representation based on party lists.

Although Meloni's party remains the country's most popular political party, recent opinion polls indicate that the governing coalition as a whole trails the centre-left alliance led by the Democratic Party and the Five Star Movement. The Reuters report predicts that the 2027 general election could produce no clear winner should current polling trends continue, leaving no party or coalition with a decisive parliamentary majority.

By Nazrin Sadigova