In June 1946, the Italian people voted to abolish the Monarchy and the country became a Democratic Republic. The Italian Parliament is made up of 945 elected members. There are two houses, both with equal rights and powers. The Italian Chamber of Deputies, the lower house, has 630 seats. For elections to the lower house, the country is represented by 26 constituences. These constituences elect 617 members of Parliament between them. Aosta Valley elects one more and the remaining 12 are elected by Italians living abroad.
The Italian Senate, the upper house, has 315 seats. For elections to the Senate, votes are cast regionally with 6 seats allocated to Italians living abroad. Both houses are elected every five years.
Unlike the British and American system, where votes are cast for individual candidates, the Italian voting system is based on a 'Party List' system, where each party's candidates are ranked in order of priority. If a party wins 10 seats, for example, then the first 10 candidates on their list are selected and take their seats in Parliament.
Coalitions are actively encouraged by the system. In forming a coalition to fight an election, individual parties must sign up to a coalition document and agree to support a single, nominated leader.