Italian elections on 25 September. Get ready to vote.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi's recent resignation leads Italy to bring forward its general elections from 2023 to 2022. The date is already set for 25 September, and the Italians regularly registered in the AIRE and on the electoral list will be called to vote.

Those who live outside Italy will receive the ballots and instructions by post a few weeks before 25 September. The model should be very similar to the one used for the recent Referendum. We will post more details on how to vote when we have access to the official instructions.

For now, we recommend you keep your address updated in AIRE to ensure you receive your ballots. You can do the update directly through the Fast-It portal.

Why were the elections brought forward?

The dissolution of parliament in political crises is relatively common in parliamentary political systems such as Italy. In this specific case, Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who governed with the general support of different political forces, lost part of that support and understood that he would not be able to put into practice his government plans related to economic recovery actions in the post-Covid. Therefore, without the vast majority supporting him, Mario Draghi decided to resign from his post.

Knowing the difficulty of putting a new Prime Minister in place quickly, there was an attempt by various political forces to keep Draghi in charge and form a new majority. However, even after a speech in parliament, this majority was not confirmed, and Draghi finally confirmed his departure.

Italian President Sergio Matarella, who, unlike Brazil, is head of state but not of government, accepted his resignation and dissolved parliament, calling for new elections within 70 days, according to legislation.

What does that mean?

In the Italian parliamentary model, the population does not elect the head of state (President) or the head of government (Prime Minister) but the deputies and senators of the Republic. Those deputies and senators are the ones who will elect the President, and the President will nominate the Prime Minister.

For the purpose of political governance, the chosen PM usually is the leader of the party or coalition with a majority in parliament.

In practice, the 25 September general elections will elect a new parliament composed of 400 deputies and 200 senators. Italians abroad will vote for candidates from their regions, which in total will represent eight deputies and four senators.

How will we contribute?

Our blog is non-partisan and seeks the greatest possible neutrality. Therefore, we will not bring analyses of parties or candidates nor posts aimed at influencing the vote. Instead, we will continue publishing practical information with step-by-step instructions on voting, returning the envelope with your ballots, etc. Follow us on Facebook to stay informed of our publications.