Italian electoral law referendum, 2009
Encyclopedia
Three referendums on reforming the electoral law were held in Italy
on 21-22 June 2009. They were promoted by Mario Segni
, Giovanni Guzzetta, Arturo Parisi
, Antonio Martino
and Daniele Capezzone
. With a turnout of 23.31% / 23.84%, the referendums did not reach the necessary quorum of 50% voters, so were not valid.
The three questions were about giving the majority prize to the most voted list in the Chamber of Deputies (question 1, purple ballot) and in the Senate (question 2, yellow ballot) as opposed to the most voted coalition, as is the current law, and about preventing politicians from standing in multiple constituencies at the same time (question 3, green ballot).
The Promoting Committee and Democratic Party
(PD) had proposed holding the referendums together with European Parliament elections, whereas The People of Freedom
(PdL) as its main ally, the Lega Nord, opposed the referendums and answered that never, in Italian history, an election and a referendum were jointly celebrated.
Several PdL party officials had long supported the referendums, the main long-term goal of the PdL being to transform Italian politics into a two-party system
. The PD saw the referendums as an opportunity to overcome its current political hard times and to divide the centre-right.
— Abrogation of the connection between lists and of the attribution of the majority prize to a coalition of lists.
— Abrogation of the connection between lists and of the attribution of the majority prize to a coalition of lists.
— Abrogation of the possibility for a candidate to stand for election in more than one constituency.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
on 21-22 June 2009. They were promoted by Mario Segni
Mario Segni
Mariotto Segni, more often known as Mario, is an Italian politician, son of Antonio Segni, one time President of the Republic of Italy....
, Giovanni Guzzetta, Arturo Parisi
Arturo Parisi
Arturo Parisi is an Italian politician, leader of the Ulivist faction of the Democratic Party and four-time member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies...
, Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino
Antonio Martino is an Italian politician, who has been Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1994 and Italian Minister of Defense from 2001 to 2006. He is a founding member of Forza Italia, holding party card no. 2.-Career:...
and Daniele Capezzone
Daniele Capezzone
Daniele Capezzone is a centre-right Italian politician.He currently is the spokesman for the People of Freedom.From July 14, 2001 to November 4, 2006, he was secretary of the Italian Radicals, a liberal, pro-market economy, libertarian movement associated with the Transnational Radical Party...
. With a turnout of 23.31% / 23.84%, the referendums did not reach the necessary quorum of 50% voters, so were not valid.
The three questions were about giving the majority prize to the most voted list in the Chamber of Deputies (question 1, purple ballot) and in the Senate (question 2, yellow ballot) as opposed to the most voted coalition, as is the current law, and about preventing politicians from standing in multiple constituencies at the same time (question 3, green ballot).
The Promoting Committee and Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Italy)
The Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in Italy, that is the second-largest in the country. The party is led by Pier Luigi Bersani, who was elected in the 2009 leadership election....
(PD) had proposed holding the referendums together with European Parliament elections, whereas The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom
The People of Freedom is a centre-right political party in Italy. With the Democratic Party, it is one of the two major parties of the current Italian party system....
(PdL) as its main ally, the Lega Nord, opposed the referendums and answered that never, in Italian history, an election and a referendum were jointly celebrated.
Several PdL party officials had long supported the referendums, the main long-term goal of the PdL being to transform Italian politics into a two-party system
Two-party system
A two-party system is a system where two major political parties dominate voting in nearly all elections at every level of government and, as a result, all or nearly all elected offices are members of one of the two major parties...
. The PD saw the referendums as an opportunity to overcome its current political hard times and to divide the centre-right.
First question
Italian Chamber of DeputiesItalian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
— Abrogation of the connection between lists and of the attribution of the majority prize to a coalition of lists.
Second question
Italian SenateItalian Senate
The Senate of the Republic is the upper house of the Italian Parliament. It was established in its current form on 8 May 1948, but previously existed during the Kingdom of Italy as Senato del Regno , itself a continuation of the Senato Subalpino of Sardinia-Piedmont established on 8 May 1848...
— Abrogation of the connection between lists and of the attribution of the majority prize to a coalition of lists.
Third question
Italian Chamber of DeputiesItalian Chamber of Deputies
The Italian Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Parliament of Italy. It has 630 seats, a plurality of which is controlled presently by liberal-conservative party People of Freedom. Twelve deputies represent Italian citizens outside of Italy. Deputies meet in the Palazzo Montecitorio. A...
— Abrogation of the possibility for a candidate to stand for election in more than one constituency.