Without collecting digital signatures, the new parties will not be able to run for elections

Without collecting digital signatures

Two months before the political elections, the smaller parties will have enormous difficulties in collecting the approximately 60,000 signatures needed to run for Parliament. It will be an almost impossible challenge, given that the accessions must be filed by the end of August after being collected by hand and authenticated at the time of signing by a public official present on site: an anachronistic procedure that does not take into account proven tools such as the digital signature and which represents "serious discrimination", as underlined by the Luca Coscioni Association.

"We ask you to do everything in your power to prevent the next elections from being reserved for the participation of parties already represented in Parliament" and "Allow the presentation of lists of candidates also through digital signature, after it has already been allowed on referendums" wrote the L. Coscioni Association in a joint letter with Euman as, pan-European civic participation movement, to the outgoing Prime Minister Mario Dragons. Announcing the will to participate in the next elections with the list "For democracy: overcoming discrimination essential".

How does the collection of signatures to present the electoral lists How many signatures are needed Which parties should not collect signatures Which parties must collect signatures How does the collection of signatures to present electoral lists work In Italy, the procedures for collecting signatures are administered by a 50-year-old law, in a regulatory framework judged to be contrary to the right of citizens to participate in public life by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Collecting digital signatures is already a common practice in almost the entire European Union; in some countries, such as Germany, digital signatures are also valid for the presentation of new parties in national and European electoral competitions.

In our country, therefore, the collection of signatures is the greatest obstacle to be able to participate in the electoral competition. A lot of them are needed and it is difficult to collect them in a short time, especially in August - a month when many people are on vacation and in which the procedures will risk being longer. The deadline for the elections is 25 September, this means that all documents relating to the candidacies must be filed by 22 August at the clerk's office of the Court of Appeal. Otherwise it will not be possible to run for seats in Parliament. However, only some parties are required to collect signatures, while others are exempt.

How many signatures are needed Before 2020, parties and coalitions had to collect at least 1,500 signatures, and no more than 2,000, to each of the 63 multi-member colleges of the Chamber, for a total of 94,500 signatures to present themselves throughout Italy, plus another 1,500 for each of the 33 colleges of the Senate. Since it is possible to sign for both lists, the collection of signatures for the Senate is usually not a problem.

After the constitutional referendum, however, the plurinominal constituencies in the Chamber fell to 49; therefore, to appear throughout Italy, at least 73,500 signatures would be needed. However, with elections more than four months ahead of the normal term of the legislature, the number of signatures required is halved. Therefore, at least 750 are needed instead of 1500 for each plurinominal college. In total, parties and coalitions throughout Italy would have to collect at least 36,750 signatures for the Chamber and 19,500 for the Senate to stand in the political elections of September 25, 2022.

Furthermore, to be valid, the signatures must be hand-picked and authenticated at the time of signature by a public official present on site, or mayors, local administrators or municipal officials, notaries or lawyers, and the signatures must be of voters or electricians registered in the electoral lists of the municipalities that are part of the college plurinominale in question. Basically, you can't sign up for a list outside of your residence.

Which parties should not collect signatures These rules only affect certain parties. Thanks to the Elections decree approved in May, some rules have been introduced that limit the obligation to collect signatures for "the first elections of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic subsequent to the date of entry into force of the law", that is, those of 25 September . In particular, article 6-bis clarifies that "parties or political groups constituted as a parliamentary group in at least one of the two chambers as of December 31, 2021" can present candidates without collecting signatures. This case includes Fratelli d'Italia, Lega, Forza Italia, PD, Movimento 5 Stelle, Liberi e Uguali, Italia Viva and Coraggio Italia.

Furthermore, the exemption has also been extended to parties "that have presented candidacies with their own mark in the last elections of the Chamber of Deputies or in the last elections of the members of the European Parliament due to Italy in at least two thirds of the constituencies and who have obtained at least one seat assigned in proportion "as + Europe - Democratic Center. Or to those who “have contributed to the determination of the national electoral figure of the coalition having achieved, on a national level, a number of valid votes higher than 1 per cent of the total” such as Noi con l'Italia by Maurizio Lupi.

Which parties must collect signatures All parties, even with representatives in parliament, who do not have the characteristics presented, will be obliged to collect signatures. This is the group led by Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, Together for the future, Alternative exists, which brings together other splinters of the 5 Star Movement, Italexit by Gianluigi Paragone, Potere al Popolo, Verdi Europeans, Ancora Italia, the Communist Party by Marco Rizzo and Reconquer Italy. Action by Carlo Calenda will not have to collect signatures thanks to the alliance with + Europe.