Italy

Chamber of Deputies Senate

Senate

Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes
»

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Background

Election date(s)
25 Sep 2022
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature
22 Jul 2022
Timing of election
Early elections
Expected date of next elections
30 Sep 2027
Number of seats at stake
200
Scope of elections
Full renewal

Candidates

Number of parties contesting the election
25
Total number of candidates
1,630
Number of male candidates
911
Number of female candidates
719
Percentage of women candidates
44.1%

Voter turnout

Registered voters
45,210,950
Voters
28,795,727
Voter turnout
63.7%

Results

About the election

The centre-right coalition, led by Ms. Giorgia Meloni (see note 1), won the snap elections in 2022, gaining a majority in both chambers of parliament. The coalition took 237 seats in the 400-member Chamber of Deputies, and 115 of the 200 directly elected seats in the Senate. That was nearly three times more seats than the centre-left coalition, led by former Prime Minister Enrico Letta (see note 2). Mr. Luigi di Maio’s Five Star Movement lost a significant share of its seats and finished third in both chambers. On 21 October, President Sergio Mattarella appointed Ms. Meloni as the new Prime Minister. She was officially sworn in the following day, thereby becoming the first woman in Italy to assume the post.

The 2022 elections were the first to be held after the 2020 referendum, which significantly decreased the statutory number of members in both chambers of parliament (see the “Note on the new statutory number of members” under “Other notes”). A lower voting age for the Senate (18 years old, instead of 25) was applied for the first time (see note 3).

The early elections were triggered by the collapse of the coalition government and the subsequent resignation of Prime Minister Mario Draghi (see note 4) on 21 July 2022. On 22 July, President Mattarella dissolved Parliament and called early elections for September 2022; they had originally been due by May 2023. The elections followed the global COVID-19 pandemic, and were held against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine that started in February. The war has sparked a major Europe-wide energy crisis and a rise in the cost of living, which dominated election campaigning. Other major electoral issues included the post-COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Plan (through which Italy would obtain a €190-billion funding package from the European Union), as well as abortion rights and LGBTQ+ rights.

Note 1:

The coalition known as Brothers of Italy (FdI) – Lega – Forza Italia – Us Moderates (Noi moderati, NM) included Ms. Meloni's Brothers of Italy (FdI), Mr. Matteo Salvini's Northern League (Lega), and former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia. The FdI traces its roots to the Italian Social Movement, a party created by supporters of former Prime Minister Benito Mussolini who founded and led the National Fascist Party.

Note 2:

Mr. Letta’s Democratic Party led the coalition known as DP – Democratic and Progressive Italy (PD-IDP) – Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) – "+EUROPA" – Civic Commitment (IC).

Note 3:

In accordance with Law no. 1 of 18 October 2021 (which amended Article 58 of the Constitution), the minimum age at which one can vote in Senate elections was lowered from 25 to 18 years old. The voting age is now the same for both chambers of parliament.

Note 4:

Mr. Draghi, former President of the European Central Bank, succeeded Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in February 2021. Mr. Conte had formed a coalition government comprising the Five Star Movement and the Lega following elections in 2018. That coalition collapsed in January 2021.

Number of parties winning seats
7
Percentage of parties winning seats
28.0%
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition
57.5%
Alternation of power after elections
Yes
Names of parties in government
Coalition Brothers of Italy (FdI) - Lega - Forza Italia - Us Moderates (Noi moderati, NM)

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group Total Proportional Majority Abroad
Coalition Brothers of Italy (FdI) - Lega - Forza Italia - Us Moderates (Noi moderati, NM) 115 56 59 0
Democratic Party - Democratic and Progressive Italy (PD-IDP) - Greens and Left Alliance (AVS) - +EUROPA" - Civic Commitment (IC) 44 34 7 3
Five Star Movement (M5s) 28 23 5 0
Action - Italia Viva 9 9 0 0
South Tyrolean People's Party - PATT (SVP - PATT) 2 0 2 0
South calls North (Sud Chiama Nord) 1 0 1 0
Associative Movement of Italians Abroad (MAIE) 1 0 0 1
Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
131
Number of women elected
69

Notes:

After the 2022 elections, there were 206 members of the Senate, of whom 71 were women. The composition of the chamber broke down as follows:

- 200 directly elected senators, of whom 69 were women;

- five senators appointed by the President, of whom two were women;

- one male former President of the Republic, who is an ex-officio member of the Senate.

Percentage of women elected
34.5%
Women Directly Elected
69
Women Appointed
2
Other notes on the elections

Note on the new statutory number of members:

Article 4 of the Constitutional Amendment Law 19 October 2020 no. 1 stipulates that the 2020 constitutional amendments “shall become effective after the first dissolution of Parliament following the date of entry into force of this Law”. The new statutory number of members in both chambers of parliament thus became effective on 22 July 2022 when the 2018 legislature was dissolved in view of early elections to be held on 25 September 2022.

The number of members in the Chamber of Deputies has decreased from 630 to 400 and that of the Senate from 315 to 200*. Both chambers will continue to be elected under a mixed system (parallel system, using list-based proportional representation and first past the post), see below.

*In addition, as was the case for the previous Senate, the President of the Republic may appoint up to five citizens. Former Presidents of the Republic are ex officio Senators for life unless they renounce the office.

Chamber of Deputies: 400 members

- List proportional representation system: 253 members (245 members elected from 28 constituencies in Italy and 8 members elected from constituencies abroad)

- First-past-the-post system: 147 members elected from 28 national constituencies

Senate: 200 members

- List proportional representation system: 126 (122 members elected from 20 regional constituencies and 4 members elected from constituencies abroad)

- First-past-the-post system: 74 members elected from 20 regional constituencies

Sources

New legislature

Total number of men after the election
135
Total number of women after the election
71
Percentage of women after the election
34.5%
First-term parliamentarians
78
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians
37.9%
Date of the first session
13 Oct 2022

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature
Ignazio La Russa (Male)
Date of birth: 18 Jul 1947
Political party
Brothers of Italy (FdI)
Date of election
13 Oct 2022

Historical data for IPU membership

Export XLS file XLS Export-Grey CSV
Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No