The electoral law which will be used in the 2013 Italian elections is radically different from any other electoral system in Europe

Parliamentary elections are due to be held in Italy on 24-25 February. As part of EUROPP’s series of articles previewing the election, Matteo Garavoglia outlines Italy’s electoral law, and its likely impact on the final results. He notes that the country’s electoral system contains a number of peculiarities that mark it out as being significantly different from any other system used in Europe. Among the most important is the use of ‘electoral prizes’ to artificially create majorities in both houses of Parliament.