Electoral law passes the Senate, now it's up to the House.

The Senate approved the electoral law reform in its second reading with 113 votes in favor, 71 against, and 2 abstentions. The text, amended during the review at Palazzo Madama, now returns to the Chamber of Deputies, where the third and decisive reading has been scheduled starting from September 28.

The passage in Montecitorio will not be without tensions. The majority must decide whether to resort to a vote of confidence to prevent amendments from reopening internal discussions and risking the collapse of the agreement. The opposition, which contested the measure by calling it a "fraudulent law," has already announced a battle and intends to request a secret vote on key points, such as the introduction of preference votes.

Electoral reform is one of the cornerstone laws on the Meloni government's institutional agenda. Its goal is to move beyond the single-member constituency system, introduced by the previous Rosato law, and return to a model with a predominantly proportional base, adjusted by a governability bonus.

The proposed system remains based on proportional representation but introduces a bonus of 70 seats in the Chamber and 35 in the Senate for the list or coalition that obtains at least 42% of the valid votes in both houses of Parliament. The text also sets entry thresholds and requires political forces to indicate in their electoral program the name of their candidate for Prime Minister. The parliamentary process began with the Chamber's approval on July 16. Significant amendments were introduced in the Senate, such as allowing voters to express up to three preferences for candidates on the list (excluding the list leader) and raising the number of signatures required for lists not represented in Parliament. These amendments mean the third reading in the Chamber will not be a simple ratification but a fresh examination of the text.