At stake in this election:

• 630 seats in the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Giorgio NAPOLITANO
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Mario MONTI
• Assembly: Italy has a bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consisting of the Senate (Senato della Repubblica) with 319 seats and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) with 630 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by an electoral college to serve a 7-year term.
• Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
• In the Senate (Senato della Repubblica), 315 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms and 4 members are filled ex officio*. In the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) 630 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.**

* Thresholds apply at the regional level, and seats are allocated regionally. The thresholds are: 20% for any pre-election coalition, 3% for any party within a coalition, and 8% for any party not in coalition. Within a coalition, seats are allocated to parties in proportion to their vote shares.

** Lists are closed. Once national thresholds are met, seats are allocated to parties on a regional basis. The thresholds are: 10% for any pre-election coalition, 2% for any party within a pre-election coalition, and 4% for any party not in coalition. The pre-election coalition winning a plurality of votes is guaranteed 340 seats. Within a coalition, seats are allocated to parties in proportion to their vote shares.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Coalition: Italy. Common Good / Italia. Bene Comune*
  • Leader: Pier Luigi BERSANI
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 113
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 340
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• Coalition: With Monti for Italy / Con Monti per l'Italia**
  • Leader: Mario MONTI
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 18
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 45
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• List: Civil Revolution / Rivoluzione Civile***
  • Leader: Antonio INGRAOIA
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 0
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• List: Five Star Movement / Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S)
  • Leader: Giuseppe Piero GRILLO
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 54
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 108
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• List: Stop the Decline / Fermare il Declino*****
  • Leader: Oscar GIANNINO
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 0
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 0
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A
• Coalition: Centre-Right Coalition / L'alleanza di Centro-Destra******
  • Leader: Silvio BERLUSCONI
  • Seats won in this Senate election: 116
  • Seats won in last Senate election: N/A
  • Seats won in this Chamber of Deputies election: 124
  • Seats won in last Chamber of Deputies election: N/A

* Electoral coalition consisting of the Democratic Party (Partito Democratico), Left Ecology Freedom (Sinistra Ecologia Libertà), Italian Socialist Party (Partito Socialist Italiano), the Democratic Centre (Centro Democratico), Moderates for the Piedmont (Moderati per il Piemonti), and the South Tyrolean People’s Party (Südtiroler Volkspartei). Currently these parties have 215 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and 115 seats in the Senate.
** Electoral coalition led by former technocratic Prime Minister Mario Monti. The coalition consists of Civic Choice (Scelta Civica), Union of the Centre (Unione di Centro), and Future and Freedom (Futuro e Libertà). Currently these parties have 64 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 13 seats in the Senate, not inclusive of Mario Monti, who is a life-Senator.
*** Electoral list consisting of left-wing political parties in Europe. The list consists of Italy of Values (Italia dei Valori), the Orange Movement (Movimento Arancione), the Federation of the Left (Federazione della Sinistra), and the Federation of the Greens (Federazione dei Verdi). In the last election, these parties won 19 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, and 12 seats in the Senate.
***** Electoral list created in July 2012 by a group of seven economists to reduce Italy’s national debt, public expenditures, and tax burden on Italian citizens.
****** Electoral coalition comprising of the The People of Freedom (Il Popolo della Libertà), the Northern League (Lega Nord), The Right (La Destra), Brothers of Italy (Fratelli d’Italia), Project South (Progetto Sud), Italian Moderates in Revolution (Moderati Italini in Rivoluzione), Popular Agreement (Intesa Popolare), and the Pensioners’ Party (Partito Pensionati). Currently these parties hold 278 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 151 seats in the Senate.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 60,233,948 (2013)
• Registered Voters: 42,270,824 (February 2013 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 30,972,255 (2013)

·         Is Italy a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Italy ratified CEDAW: Yes (10 June 1985)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 179 (Chamber of Deputies); 86 (Senate) (following the 2013 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 27 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Very Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Italy a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Italy ratified CRPD: Yes (15 May 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 9,035,092 (est.)