Country: Italy Official Name: Italian Republic Election Type: Parliamentary Date: April 13, 2008 Source for election date

At stake in this election:

• 315 seats in the Senate (Senato della Repubblica)
• 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Giorgio NAPOLITANO
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Romano PRODI
• Assembly: Italy has a bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consisting of the Senate (Senato della Repubblica) with 322 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) with 630 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by parliament to serve a 7-year term.
• In the Senate (Senato della Repubblica), 315 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms, 5 members are elected by the President and 2 members are filled ex officio*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) 630 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.**

* Party coalitions need to obtain at least 20% of the valid votes to gain seats in the Senate. Parties within a coalition must receive at least 3% of the vote to win seats. Parties running independent of any coalitions must obtain 8% of the valid votes.

** The winning coalition receives 54% of chamber seats. Remaining seats are allocated by proportion. Party coalitions need to obtain at least 10% of the valid votes to gain seats in the Chamber. Parties within a coalition must receive at least 2% of the vote to win seats. Parties running independent of any coalitions must obtain 4% of the valid votes.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: People of Freedom (centre-right coalition) / Il Popolo della Libertá (PDL)*
  Leader: Silvio BERLUSCONI
  Seats won in this Senate election: 171
  Seats won in last Senate election: 156
  Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 344
  Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 281
• Party: Democratic Party (centre-left coalition) / Partitio Democratico (PD)**
  Leader: Walter VELTRONI
  Seats won in this Senate election: 132
  Seats won in last Senate election: 158
  Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 246
  Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 348
• Party: Union of the Center / Unione de Centro***
  Leader: Pier Ferdinando CASINI
  Seats won in this Senate election: 3
  Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 36
  Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A

* Coalition includes the People of Freedom party [merger of Go Italy (Forza Italia) and the National Alliance (Alleanza Nazionale)], the Northern League (Lega Nord), and Movement for Autonomy (Movimento per l’Autonomia).
** Coalition includes the Democratic Party and Italy of Values (Italia dei Valori).
*** Coalition led by the Union of Christian and Center Democrats.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 58,147,733 (July 2007 est.)
• Registered Voters: 47,126,326 ( Chamber; domestic constituents; also 2,812,422 constitutents living abroad) 43,133,946 (Senate; domestic constituents; also 2,531,584 constitutents living abroad) (both March 2008)

Last Updated on 02/06/2008

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