Italy’s Meloni suffers parliamentary defeat on election law reform

ROME: ‌Italy’s parliament on Wednesday rejected a key aspect of voting rules reforms proposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party, dealing her a significant setback ahead of general elections due next year.
The lower house is debating an electoral ‌reform that would introduce ‌a fully proportional ‌voting ⁠system with a ⁠seat bonus for the winning coalition.
In a secret ballot, lawmakers rejected a proposal by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party to reintroduce preference voting ⁠for candidates on party ‌lists.
‌Meloni’s main coalition partners, the League ‌and Forza Italia, had said ‌they would support the measure, but it was defeated by 188 votes to 187, indicating that ‌part of the ruling majority defected.
The center-left opposition ⁠has ⁠accused Meloni of rewriting the electoral rules ahead of next year’s election in a bid to retain power.
Opposition groups hailed the result and said it showed Meloni no longer had full control of her parliamentary majority, with some calling on her to resign.