Italy’s Parliament votes Thursday (October 8, 2026) on a reform of the country’s electoral law that opposition parties say Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ‘s hard-right government has designed to boost its chances of re-election next year.
That could prove problematic for the centre-left, which disagrees on key policy issues and has yet to rally around a single leader. Ms. Meloni has warned she would resign if the reform fails; however, analysts say lawmakers are unlikely to risk triggering an election now.
It would also benefit voters by requiring parties and coalitions to spell out their governing programme and name their candidate for premier “well before the election”, he said. Chiara Braga, lower-house leader for the main opposition Democratic Party (PD), told AFP the proposal “bends democratic rules to serve the interests of those in power”.
The opposition has vowed to vote against the reform, which has already cleared the Senate and now needs approval in the lower house.
The proposal would introduce a fully proportional system that guarantees a parliamentary majority to any alliance winning more than 42% of the vote.
The electoral reform would “guarantee governability”, Luca Ciriani, minister for parliamentary relations, told AFP .
