Italian Chamber erupts over electoral law: Magi expelled, session suspended

The Italian Chamber of Deputies erupted in chaos on June 26, 2026, as a heated debate over a new electoral law culminated in the expulsion of Riccardo Magi, leader of the +Europa party. The incident, which led to a temporary suspension of the session, underscored the intense political divisions surrounding the proposed reforms.

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I feared they might suspend me, and that the suspension, coincidentally, might arrive while the 'final' of the electoral law is being debated in the chamber.

Magi, serving as the minority rapporteur for the electoral law, protested the legislation by displaying a facsimile of a ballot paper. The sign bore the stark message, "Your vote does not count." Despite repeated calls from the presiding officer, Anna Ascani, to remove the protest materials, Magi persisted, leading to his ejection from the chamber.

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I believe this electoral law truly marks an electoral coup d'état, let's call it a mild, bureaucratic coup d'état, but a coup d'état. The line is crossed, and it is accepted that Parliament becomes an organ elected by dragging along the leader, and that is unacceptable.

Following his expulsion, Magi voiced strong criticism of the electoral law, likening it to a "mild, bureaucratic coup d'état." He argued that the reform diminishes the role of Parliament, making it subservient to party leaders. Magi expressed concern that the law unfairly favors established parties and creates obstacles for smaller or dissenting political groups, such as his own, to participate in elections.

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With the aggravating circumstance that the parties in Parliament close ranks and do not want smaller, minor, inconvenient subjects, like perhaps we are due to the type of battles and struggles we carry out, to be able to participate in electoral competition.

He specifically pointed to the perceived arbitrary criteria for electoral participation, contrasting the situation of parties like Lupi, which he claimed benefited from borrowed deputies, with that of +Europa. Magi stated that his party, despite securing 820,000 votes (2.9% of the total), would face a "path of obstacles" through signature collection, unlike others he deemed less electorally significant but politically favored. The controversy highlights deep-seated concerns about fairness and representation within Italy's electoral system.

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And so, in addition to the devastation related to the structure of this law, which is a law that goes beyond the 'truffa' law and looks to the Acerbo law of 1923 because it is a law that transforms a minority of the country into a majority in Parliament... to all this they add the fact that they decide discretionarily, arbitrarily who can participate in elections and who instead must overcome an obstacle course through signature collection.