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Chamber Rejects Meloni‑Backed Preferences Plan by One Vote

The narrow 187–188 loss exposed fractures inside the centre‑right and keeps the electoral reform alive as it moves to the Senate where secret ballots are not allowed, raising fresh political risks.

Overview

  • The Chamber of Deputies voted down the Fratelli d'Italia‑led amendment on voter preferences by 187 to 188 in a secret ballot, a result reported across parliamentary records and major outlets.
  • The proposal would have kept a blocked lead candidate on seven‑name lists while allowing voters to choose up to three gender‑alternated preferences among the remaining six names.
  • Parliamentary rules allowed a secret ballot on this item, which opposition parties used and which analysts say let roughly forty majority MPs vote against party instructions without public record.
  • Opposition leaders immediately called for the government's resignation and early elections, but government officials said they will continue debate and the dossier will next be debated in the Senate.
  • Political analysts and party sources warn the vote sharpens intra‑coalition tensions, complicates party discipline before the next election, and could produce a different outcome in the Senate because secret voting on this point is prohibited there.