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Saragat presents the electoral reform

A shift towards proportional representation: National Liberals protest while extra-parliamentary movements rejoice

March 5637

ROMULA — After weeks of intense consultations with the parties represented in parliament and intense discussions with exponents of extra-parliamentary political movements, Minister Secretary of State Annalisa Saragat has officially presented her proposal for reform of the electoral system. The proposal marks a paradigm shift in national political representation and aims to respond to growing criticism of the lack of pluralism in parliament.

The heart of the reform, which does not affect the system for the 119 seats reserved for the Armed Forces, provides for the introduction of a mixed electoral system: of the 356 seats elected in civilian constituencies, 178 will continue to be assigned in single-member constituencies with the instant run-off system, while the other 178 will be distributed on a proportional basis according to the list vote expressed by voters.

In detail, the reform will maintain the number of 475 seats of the National Congress and, as mentioned, the 119 seats reserved for the Armed Forces will continue to be elected with the alternative voting system in single-member constituencies.

The 356 civilian seats will be divided into 178 single-member constituencies always elected with the instant run-off system and 178 proportional seats assigned on a national basis through a list vote.

Each voter will have to cast two separate votes, one for the preferred candidate of their constituency through the usual instant run-off system (so the voter will continue to present his/her list of preferences), and one list vote for a party.

The 178 seats assigned on a proportional basis will be allocated by calculating for each party the total number of seats that would be due to it on the entire civil quota of 356 seats, according to its percentage share, the seats already won in single-member constituencies will be subtracted, to obtain the number of proportional seats to be assigned with the largest remainder method without thresholds, a choice to grant maximum proportionality and transparence and to promote fair distribution even for small parties.

The reform was greeted with enthusiasm by the New Communists, who immediately announced their support for the text considered as a decisive step forward towards a more representative democracy. The favorable line also prevailed among the Hosian Democrats: despite some internal resistance, the majority of the party announced that it will vote in favor of the proposal.

The position of the National Liberals, the main opposition force, was decidedly opposite. Leader Valeriano Giunio harshly criticized the reform and responded to journalists as he left the National Congress after the presentation of the reform:

I warn you: the new system will make it impossible for any party to prevail, condemning the country to a nightmare of instability. Parliament will be led by fragile government alliances that emerged from laborious negotiations that will satisfy no one, least of all the citizens! And furthermore, I assure you that with these governments it will be impossible to clearly identify responsibilities and those responsible.

The tone among the extra-parliamentary movements is very different, which see the reform as a historic opportunity. Greens, civics, autonomists, republican and even anarchists rejoiced at the news, declaring themselves ready to prepare for the next round of elections, which promises to be much more open and competitive than the past ones.

With the approval of the reform now on the horizon, the entire country is now looking to the next elections. The great unknown remains the political fate of Annalisa Saragat: will her decision to focus on dialogue and the path of reform be rewarded by the voters or will it mark the end of her political career? In a climate already full of expectations and tensions, the answer will only come from the ballot boxes in 5640.