The Italian general election is a snap election due to the Italian government crisis of 2022. After former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced that the Five Star Movement would revoke its support of the government due to a proposed economic stimulus, a no-confidence vote on July 20th was initiated. Despite winning the no-confidence vote, Prime Minister Mario Draghi offered his resignation.¹ President Sergio Mattarella accepted Draghi’s resignation and asked him to remain in place until the snap election on September 25th to handle affairs.² 

At Stake in this Election:        

• 400 members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Italy 

Government Structure: 

• Chief of State: President Sergio MATTARELLA 

• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mario DRAGHI 

• Assembly: A bicameral Parliament consisting of a 400-member Chamber of Deputies and a 200-member Senate*  

*Following a constituent referendum, the size of the chambers has been reduced to 400 members in the Chamber of Deputies and 200 in the Senate.³  

Electoral System: 

• The President is elected through secret ballot of the members of Parliament and regional delegates (3 per region). The candidate must reach 2/3 of the vote in the first two rounds or an absolute majority after the third round. They are elected to a seven-year term. 

• The Prime Minister is appointed by the President.   

• There are 400 members of the Chamber of Deputies. 147 members are elected in single-member constituencies by plurality. 245 are elected in multi-member constituencies by national proportional representation. 8 are elected in multi-member abroad constituencies by constituency proportional representation.** They are elected to five year terms.  

• There are 200 members of the Senate. 74 members are elected in single-member constituencies by plurality. 122 are elected in multi-member constituencies by regional proportional representation. 4 members are elected in multi-member abroad constituencies by constituency proportional representation.** They are elected to five-year terms.  

• Following the approval of a 2021 election law, the voting age for the Senate has been lowered to 18, making it equal to the Chamber of Deputies. 

**This electoral system has changed as a result of the 2020 constitutional referendum. 

Main Candidates in this Election:  

• Lega 

• Leader: Matteo SALVINI 

• Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 131 

• Seats won in last Senate election: 61 

• Five Star Movement 

• Leader: Giuseppe CONTE 

• Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 96 

• Seats won in last Senate election: 62 

• Democratic Party 

• Leader: Enrico LETTA 

• Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 106 

• Seats won in last Senate election: 43 

• Forza Italia 

• Leader: Silvio BERLUSCONI 

• Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 73 

• Seats won in last Senate election: 50 

• Civic Commitment 

• Leader: Luigi DI MAIO 

• Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 54 

• Seats won in last Senate election: 11 

• Action – Italia Viva 

• Leader: Carlo CALENDA 

• Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 46 

• Seats won in last Senate election: 18 

• Brothers of Italy 

• Leader: Giorgia MELONI 

• Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 37 

• Seats won in last Senate election: 21 

• Us Moderates 

• Leader: Maurizio LUPI 

• Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 23 

• Seats won in last Senate election: 12 

• Greens and Left Alliance 

• Leader: Angelo BONELLI 

• Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: 6 

• Seats won in last Senate election: 1 

Population and Registered Voters: 

• Population: 61,095,551 (2022 est.)⁴ 

• Registered Voters: 50,736,204 (2018) 

Gender Data: 

• Female Population: 32,333,767 (2022 est.)⁵ 

• Is Italy a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 Jul 1980)⁶ 

• Has Italy ratified CEDAW: Yes (10 Jun 1985)⁷ 

• Gender Quota: None 

• Female Candidates in this election: Yes 

• Number of Female Legislators (pre-election): 229 out of 630 in Chamber of Deputies (36.4%); 112 out of 320 in Senate (35%)⁸ 

• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: Rank 30 at 0.895⁹ 

• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low at 0.0116 (2014)¹⁰ 

Disability Data: 

• Is Italy a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 Mar 2007)¹¹ 

• Has Italy ratified CRPD: Yes (15 May 2009)¹² 

• Population with a disability: 9,278,268 (2022 est.)¹³ 

IFES Resources: 

• Does IFES have a presence in Italy: No 

  

1. https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/21/europe/mario-draghi-italy-resignation-intl/index.html 

2. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/21/italian-pm-mario-draghi-says-he-will-resign-after-failing-to-revive-his-coalition-government.html

3. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54244025

4. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy/#people-and-society

5. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/italy/#people-and-society

6. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en 

7. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en 

8. https://data.ipu.org/women-ranking?month=6&year=2022

9. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/ITA 

10. https://www.genderindex.org/country/italy-2014-results/

11. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en 

12. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CEDAW&Lang=en 

13. http://electionaccess.org/en/resources/countries/?q=italy#tab