Since
the changes to the 1948 constitution, which were agreed by a referendum
in 1993, both houses of the bicameral Parlamento
are elected under a mixed system – three-quarters by a majority
vote in constituencies and one-quarter by a direct proportional
representation.
The lower house, the Camera dei Deputati (Chamber
of Deputies), has 630 members, elected for a five-year term, 475
members in single-seat constituencies and 155 members by proportional
representation. The Senato della Repubblica (Senate
of the Republic) has 326 members, elected for a five-year term,
232 members in single-seat constituencies, 83 members by proportional
representation and 11 senators for life. The two chambers, plus
a group of 58 regional representatives, comprise an electoral college
which elects a President as head of state for a
seven-year term.
The President appoints a Prime Minister who leads
a Council of Ministers with executive responsibilities.
In June 1997, a parliamentary commission on constitutional reform
announced its recommendations (including a directly elected President)
but as yet it has proved impossible to transmute these ideas into
any kind of political reality. |
