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2007 Assessment

Italy: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Italy: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Voting & Citizen Participation
Indicators		Score
14	Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?	100
15	Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?	100
16	Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?	90

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there a legal framework guaranteeing the right to vote?

14a: In law, universal and equal adult suffrage is guaranteed to all citizens.

Score:

YES

Comments: Universal and equal adult suffrage is a reality in Italy.

References: Arts. 1 and 48 of the Constitution Art. 1: Italy is a democratic republic, founded on work. Sovereignty belongs to the people, which exercises it in the forms and within the limits of the Constitution. Art. 48: All citizens, male and female, who have become of age, are electors. The vote is personal and equal, free and secret. The exercise thereof is a civic duty. An Act of Parliament shall establish the conditions and the procedures under which Italian nationals residents abroad may exercise their right to vote in Italian elections, and shall guarantee its effectiveness. For this purpose a 'Foreign Constituency' shall be created to which members to both houses of Parliament shall be elected. The number of seats shall be established by a constitutional law and comply with the criteria enacted by the Act of Parliament. The right to vote cannot be restricted, except for civil incapacity or as a consequence of an irrevocable penal sentence or in cases of moral unworthiness as laid down by law.

14b: In law, there is a legal framework requiring that elections be held at regular intervals.

Score:

YES

Comments: Elections have been always held within the terms set in article 61. The natural duration of five years has been reached only one time (legislature), all other times the houses have been disolved before the five years, as decided by the president of the republic after the government had faced a no-confidence vote by the Parliament. This is a procedure set by the Constitution and has always been a democratic process.

References: Arts. 60 and 61 of the Constitution Art 60: The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the republic are elected for five years. The term for each house cannot be extended except by law and only in cases of war.

Art. 61: Elections for the new houses will take place within 70 days of the end of the term of the previous houses. The first meeting will take place no later than 20 days after the elections. The previous chambers retain their powers until the new chambers meet.

Can all citizens exercise their right to vote?

15a: In practice, all adult citizens can vote.

Score:

100

Comments: In the past political elections (April 2006), about 84 percent of citizens voted (47.160.264 voters from 56.995.744 citizens).

References: [ LINK ]

15b: In practice, ballots are secret or equivalently protected.

Score:

100

Comments: Silvio Berlusconi and his party, Forza Italia, claimed for gerrymandering in past political elections (April 2006), but the inspections carried out after his complaints have shown minimal mistakes, without changing the final result. Some problems came from Italians (living and) voting abroad, an opportunity asked from a right-wing party, Alleanza Nazionale, because of its appeal abroad. This system has caused some further claims (still to be verified), but in general the secrecy of ballots is ensured.

References: [ LINK ] [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: Candidates are chosen.

15c: In practice, elections are held according to a regular schedule.

Score:

100

Comments: The websites report the dates of legislatures and details on elections.

References: [ LINK ] (dates of elections) [ LINK ]

Are citizens able to participate equally in the political process?

16a: In law, all citizens have a right to form political parties.

Score:

YES

Comments: Art. 98 of the Constitution sets a specific limitation of political activitiy for certain public officers. Art. 98: [...] The law can set limitations to the right to become members of political parties in the case of magistrates, career military in active service, functionaries and agents of the police, diplomatic and consular representatives abroad.

References: Art. 49 of the Constitution Art 49: All citizens have the right to freely associate in parties to contribute through democratic processes to determining national policies.

Peer Review Comments: The constitution forbids reorganization of the Fascist Party, or similar parties (Italian Constitution, Transitional and Final Dispositions, XII - Disposizioni transitorie e finali della Costituzione italiana, XII).

16b: In law, all citizens have a right to run for political office.

Score:

YES

References: Art. 51 of the Constitution Art 51: All citizens of either sex are eligible for public office and for elected positions on equal terms, according to the conditions established by law. The law may grant Italians who are not resident in the republic the same rights as citizens for the purposes of access to public offices and elected positions. Whoever is called to perform an elected public office has the right to have the needful time to carry out that function and to conserve his place of work

16c: In practice, all citizens are able to form political parties.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: While there is no guarantee of electoral success, political parties can form freely without opposition. <p>50 Score Criteria: Some barriers to formation are present, such as burdensome registration requirements that may not be fairly applied. Some parties\' political viewpoints may draw pressure from the government, such as surveillance or intimidation. Some political parties or organizations may have extra barriers to getting on a ballot. <p>0 Score Criteria: Some political parties are effectively barred from forming through some manner of official or unofficial pressure. This may include threats, arrest, or violence from competing parties or other groups.$

Comments:

References: [ LINK ]

16d: In practice, all citizens can run for political office.

Score:

100

Comments: The last reform of the electoral system has canceled the possibility for the voter to select the candidate, leaving the possibility to give the vote only to the list or political party. The lists of candidates have been decided by the parties' political leaders, thus ensuring the candidates about the certainty of being elected or not (i.e. the first names of the lists were sure to be elected, the last names were sure to not be elected). This system, chosen by Silvio Berlusconi and his coalition to increase the control on the members of the Parliament, has reduced significantly and concretely the possibility for citizens to run for political offices. Moreover, according to a World Bank study, this system is a crime-facilitator for corruption.

References: A Fabio Carducci article published on April 15, 2007: "Più corruzione con la lista bloccata"

Peer Review Comments: The comments provided by the social scientist are true but do not justify the score of zero. Every citizen can form a party, and a reasonable number of signatures must be collected in order to have the right to run for a campaign.

Moreover, it is important to notice that many sociological studies and justice investigations have proved that in southern Italy, where the Mafia is strong, when people had the possibility to select the candidate, the corruption was higher because politicians tended to buy people's vote with money or other promises.

Peer Review Comments: It is commonly recognized that the current electoral system is unfair. A referendum initiative to modify it has been launched, and political leaders have committed themselves to discussing a new electoral law.

Peer Review Comments: Candiates are chosen by political party leaders, however, everybody is free to participate in political activities within parties.

16e: In practice, an opposition party is represented in the legislature.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The opposition party always has some influence on the proceedings of the legislature. The opposition party can introduce legislation or bring pending matters to a vote without the consent of the ruling party. <p>50 Score Criteria: The opposition party has influence on the proceeding of the legislature, but it is limited in scope. The opposition\'s ability to force votes or publicly debate certain topics may be limited. <p>0 Score Criteria: The opposition party has only token participation in the legislature\'s proceedings and cannot advance legislation or force a debate.$

Comments: The opposition party has 348 seats from 630 in the Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) and 158 seats from 320 in the Senate (Senato).

References: [ LINK ]