2018 President of the Italian Senate election

2018 President of the Italian Senate election
First ballot: Majority of the entire membership needed to win; 321 members, 161 votes needed to win; Last (third) ballot: Majority of votes cast needed to win; 319 members voting, 160 needed to win
President of the Senate before election; Pietro Grasso; Free and Equal	Elected President of the Senate ; Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati; Forza Italia

The election for the President of the Senate of the Republic who would serve through the legislature XVIII of Italy took place on 23 and 24 March 2018, over three weeks after the 2018 Italian general election. It took place by secret ballot, as required by the assembly's standing orders. Former President of Italy Giorgio Napolitano, being the oldest Senator present, served as the acting presiding officer.

Following an agreement between the centre-right coalition and the Five Star Movement, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati became the first woman to be elected to the office.^[1]^[2]

Procedure

The election takes place by secret ballot, as required by the assembly's standing orders. Pursuant to the current rules of procedure, an absolute majority of the whole membership is needed to win on the first ballot. On the second and third ballot, a simple majority of votes cast (including blank ballots among the totals) suffices. If the first three ballots fail to deliver a winner, a runoff is held between the two candidates who got the most votes on the third ballot, with votes for any other candidate deemed invalid and blank ballots not included among the totals. In the event of a tie, the oldest candidate is deemed to have been elected.

Results

First ballot

Candidate		Party	Votes
	Emma Bonino	More Europe	1
	Roberto Calderoli	Lega	1
	Fabio Di Micco	Five Star Movement	1
	Giorgio Napolitano	Independent	1
	Paolo Romani	Forza Italia	1
Blank votes			312
Did not vote			4
Needed to win			161^[c]

Second ballot

Candidate		Party	Votes
	Anna Maria Bernini	Forza Italia	57
	Emma Bonino	More Europe	2
	Roberto Calderoli	Lega	1
	Giorgio Napolitano	Independent	1
Blank votes			255
Invalid votes			3
Did not vote			3
Needed to win			161^[c]

Third ballot

Candidate		Party	Votes
	Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati	Forza Italia	240
	Valeria Fedeli	Democratic Party	54
	Roberto Calderoli	Lega	3
	Roberta Pinotti	Democratic Party	2
	Liliana Segre	Independent	2
	Maurizio Gasparri	Forza Italia	1
	Paolo Romani	Forza Italia	1
	Luigi Zanda	Democratic Party	1
Blank votes			14
Invalid votes			1
Did not vote			3
Needed to win			160^[d]

Notes

^ Formally multi-member electoral district no. 01 of Veneto (Italian: collegio elettorale uninominale Veneto - 01)
^ Formally multi-member electoral district no. 03 of Campania (Italian: collegio elettorale uninominale Campania - 03)
^ ^a ^b a majority of members
^ a majority of members present

References

^ "Italienische Wahlsieger einigen sich auf Parlamentspräsidenten". Der Spiegel. 24 March 2018.
^ "Italienische Wahlsieger einigen sich auf Parlamentspräsidenten [1:10]". Südtirol News. 25 March 2018. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.

[1] Formally multi-member electoral district no. 01 of Veneto (Italian: collegio elettorale uninominale Veneto - 01)

[2] Formally multi-member electoral district no. 03 of Campania (Italian: collegio elettorale uninominale Campania - 03)

[treshold-5] rity of members

[6] rity of members present

[3] "Italienische Wahlsieger einigen sich auf Parlamentspräsidenten". Der Spiegel. 24 March 2018.

[4] "Italienische Wahlsieger einigen sich auf Parlamentspräsidenten [1:10]". Südtirol News. 25 March 2018. Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2018.

[a]

[b]

[1]

[2]

[c]

[d]