How the president and the prime minister in Italy are elected

Italy is a parliamentary republic with representative and multi-party democracy. The Executive Power is at the head of the Government, made up of three bodies: the President of the Council of Ministers, who is the head of the government, informally called “prime minister”, the Legislative Power with the Chamber of Deputies and Senators. And the judiciary is independent from the executive and the legislator.

The President of the Republic is the Head of State and represents national unity.

According to the Constitution, the election of the president It is developed through the issuance of the secret ballot of 630 deputies, 315 senators and 58 regional representatives. Two-thirds are required in the vote in favor of a candidate for his election; however, if a president has not been elected after three rounds, an absolute majority will suffice.

Parliamentary elections are every five years, unless the government falls and early elections are called.

he is elected by the parliament for a period of seven years.

President

The President of the Republic appoints a President of the Council of Ministers and the ministers proposed by him. The government needs the approval of both houses of Parliament. The President of the Council of Ministers is the head of the government and the main political figure in the country.

A very important date for Italy is June 2, 1946, when through a referendum the monarchy was abolished, proclaimed in 1861 during the Risorgimento (Unification of Italy). Therefore, in 1946, the constituent assembly was elected whose function was to draft the Constitution, which was promulgated in 1947 and entered into force on January 1, 1948.

According to the 2017 electoral law, the parliament consisted of 630 deputies and 315 senators. This situation is still in effect today and will continue until the end of the 18th legislature, which began on 23 March 2018.

The parliament

From the 19th legislature, however, the situation will change: in 2020, through a constitutional referendum, the Italians approved a constitutional reform that establishes a reduction in the number of parliamentarians, from 630 to 400 deputies and from 315 to 200 senators.

The mandate of the President of the Council depends on the confidence of the Parliament and the duration of his mandate is indefinite: there is no minimum or maximum number of years of stay in the position.

But Parliament can present a motion of censure which must be signed by at least one tenth of the members of the chamber in which it is presented. If the motion is upheld, the government or minister against whom the motion is proposed must resign. The approval of the motion of censure also entails the dissolution of Parliament and the calling of new elections.