Electoral law, the Chamber approves the 'Melonellum' by secret ballot

The Chamber of Deputies definitively approved the new electoral law, nicknamed "Melonellum," today by secret ballot. The vote represents the final step after the government obtained its third vote of confidence on the text yesterday. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was "calm" before the vote, while tension remained high within the majority coalition.

The opposition, during the voting declarations, harshly criticized the measure and denounced forms of "control and intimidation" towards majority deputies. Riccardo Magi of +Europa, who has been on a hunger strike for eight days, had unsuccessfully requested a manual vote with balls to guarantee greater secrecy. Meloni, however, celebrated the approval on social media, stating that the law ensures "stable governments and greater participation."

The text, which replaces the previous Rosatellum, introduces a proportional system with preferences and a majority bonus. The law is now final, but concerns remain about possible appeals to the Constitutional Court, especially regarding the Senate's majority bonus mechanism, considered the "weak point" of the proposal.

The Italian electoral reform, informally called "Melonellum" after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, stems from the center-right government's intention to replace the previous law, the "Rosatellum," in force since 2017. The stated goal is to ensure greater stability for future governments and restore the preference vote, which allows voters to directly choose their candidate, absent for over thirty years.

The parliamentary process was long and contentious. The government resorted three times to a vote of confidence to "lock in" the text without changes, a method that sparked strong criticism from the opposition. The latter contested both the content of the law, particularly the majority bonus, and the approval process, accusing the majority of rushing the timeline.

The final phase was marked by a clash over the secret ballot. The opposition feared that electronic voting could be controlled by party leaders, calling for a return to the manual method using balls. Today's vote, therefore, not only establishes a new electoral law but also ends a political-institutional tug-of-war that has kept the entire legislature under tension, with potential appeals to the Constitutional Court on the horizon.