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Election Profile:

Flag of Italy Source for election date

At stake in this Referendum:

  • The electoral system of the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Italy.

Description of government structure:

  • Chief of State: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO
  • Head of Government: Prime Minister Massimo D'ALEMA
  • Assembly: Italy has a bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consisting of the Senate (Senato della Repubblica) with 326 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) with 630 seats**.

** Parties winning less than 4% of the nationwide vote for the Chamber of Deputies are not allowed proportional representation seats.

Main provisions in the Referendum:

  • The referendum calls for changing the current electoral system for the Chamber of Deputies. If the referendum passes, 75% (475) of the seats of the Chamber of Deputies will be chosen by first past the post (FPTP) principles as currently stands. The remaining 25% (155) of the seats will be awarded within each of the circoscrizioni, or regions, to those candidates in the single member districts who were not already elected but who won the highest percentage of the vote among the losers.

Electoral Requirements

  • To be considered valid, a majority (50% plus one) of the electoral body must participate in the referendum.

Population and number of registered voters:

  • Population: 56,782,748 (July 1998 est.)
  • Registered Voters: 49,385,144 ( 1999 )

Last Updated on 01/25/2006

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