With the new law, the number of deputies and senators will fall from 945 to 600
With a score of 553 to 14, the Italian Chamber of Deputies approved this Tuesday (8), definitively, a constitutional reform project that reduces the number of parliamentarians by 36%.
According to the text, the number of deputies will increase from 630 to 400, while the number of senators will fall from 315 to 200. The measure also reduces the number of parliamentarians elected abroad from 18 (12 deputies and six senators) to 12 (eight deputies and four senators).
It is not yet known what the new distribution of representatives of the Italian community will be in other countries. But it is certain that the change frustrates dozens of candidates in Brazil, who dreamed of a place in the next election, and were already working towards it.
In 2018, 24 Italian-Brazilians or Italians living in Brazil ran for a seat in Parliament. Only two were elected: Luis Roberto Lorenzato and Fausto Longo.
The law, however, does not come into force immediately. As it is a constitutional reform, a fifth of at least one of the houses of Parliament, 500 voters or five regional legislative assemblies can request a referendum on the issue within up to three months after its publication in the Official Gazette.
“It is a concrete step towards reforming our institutions. For Italy, it is a historic journey,” said Premier Giuseppe Conte.
