The Electoral Services Office is responsible for the management of all national and European electoral appointments, in which those entitled to vote residing in the district are called to participate.
POLITICAL ELECTIONS AND REFERENDUM
Italian citizens residing abroad have the right to vote for the election of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic, as well as for abrogative and confirmatory popular referendums.
On the occasion of political elections, they vote in the Foreign Constituency to elect 12 Deputies and 6 Senators.
The Overseas District is divided into 4 geographical divisions: a) Europe; b) South America; c) North and Central America; d) Africa, Asia, Oceania and Antarctica.
Voters vote for the lists presented in the geographical divisions of their respective residence. In each division, one Deputy and one Senator are elected, while the remaining seats are distributed among the divisions in proportion to the number of returns.
All Italian citizens residing abroad who are at least 18 years of age have the right to vote, and who are registered in the electoral rolls that will be prepared on the basis of an updated list of residents abroad, the result of the unification of the AIRE of the Municipalities and the consular files.
To facilitate the updating of data, Law 459 provides for the obligation for voters to communicate their updated data to the Consular Office.
The candidates included in the electoral rolls presented in each geographical division must be residents and voters of that geographical division.
The vote of Italian citizens residing abroad is expressed by mail. Within 18 days before the date of the elections, the Consular Office sends all voters an envelope containing the electoral certificate; the ballot paper(s) with a small envelope in which to insert them, as well as a large pre-stamped envelope bearing the address of the Consular Office itself; the lists of candidates; an explanatory sheet on how to vote; the text of Law 459/2001. The voter must send the voted ballots to the Consular Office no later than 10 days before the date of the elections. The Consular Office provides for the rapid dispatch of the ballots to Italy, so that the counting can be carried out together with that of the ballots voted in the national territory.
Voters who, 14 days before the date of the elections, have not received the electoral envelope can request it by going in person to their Consular Office.
The Diplomatic Missions conclude agreements with the Governments of the States where Italian citizens reside to ensure that postal voting is exercised in conditions of equality, freedom and privacy; and that no prejudice can derive from it for the workplace and for the rights of voters. Italian citizens residing in countries with which it has not been possible to conclude such agreements will only be able to vote by returning to Italy.
The conduct of the electoral campaign will also be regulated by specific forms of collaboration with foreign governments, the failure to establish which, however, unlike what happens for the agreements mentioned above, will not preclude the exercise of postal voting.
Italian citizens residing abroad are not obliged to vote by mail.
In fact, Law 459 provides that the voter can opt for the exercise of the right to vote in Italy, returning to the national territory and voting for candidates who stand in the constituency relating to the national electoral section in which he is registered.
Voters who intend to return to Italy to vote must notify their Consular Office in writing by 31 December of the year preceding the natural expiry of the legislature or, in the event of early dissolution of the Chambers, within 10 days of the call for elections. The option is valid for a single electoral or referendum consultation.
There is no type of reimbursement for travel expenses incurred by the voter who has opted to vote in Italy.
Voting in Italy remains the mandatory method for Italian citizens residing in countries with whose governments it has not been possible to conclude the above-mentioned agreements, as well as for those residing in countries whose political and social situation does not guarantee, even temporarily, compliance with the conditions covered by these agreements. In such cases, and also for voters residing in countries without Italian diplomatic representations, there is the right to reimbursement of 75% of travel expenses for the return to Italy. To this end, the voter must submit a specific application to his or her Consular Office, accompanied by the electoral certificate and the travel ticket.
EUROPEAN ELECTIONS (Italian voters permanently resident in the countries of the European Union)
Law 459/2001 on the exercise of the right to vote abroad does not apply to European elections, which are regulated by Law No. 18 of 24 January 1979 and subsequent amendments.
The postal voting system does not apply to the European elections: eligible Italian voters permanently residing in the countries of the European Union can in fact go to the special polling stations set up locally by our diplomatic-consular network.
Italian voters residing abroad may also opt, within the terms provided for by law, to vote in favour of candidates from their country of residence; they can also return to Italy, taking advantage of tariff concessions on travel, and vote in their municipality of residence.
COMMITTEES OF ITALIANS ABROAD (COM.IT.ES.)
Established by Law no. 205/1985, the Com.It.Es. they are representative bodies of our community, elected directly by Italians residing abroad in each consular district where at least 3 thousand compatriots reside; even in realities where less than 3 thousand Italian citizens live, the Committees can be appointed by the diplomatic-consular authority.
The legislation on Com.it.Es. it was profoundly innovated by Law No. 286 of 26 October 2003 and by Presidential Decree No. 395 of 29 December 2003 (Implementing Regulation). Among the many innovations, it is worth mentioning first of all the introduction of postal voting in the election of Committees;
the law refers to the procedures provided for by Law no. 459 of 27 December 2001: therefore, the electoral basis is the same as that envisaged for the election of representatives to the national Parliament.
The Com.It.Es. they are composed of 12 members or 18 members, depending on whether they are elected in consular districts with a number of less or more than 100 thousand resident compatriots, as they result from the updated list used to elect representatives to the national Parliament. Once elected, the Committee may subsequently decide to co-opt 4 or 6 members, foreign citizens of Italian origin.
A particularly new element is constituted by art. 1, paragraph 2 of Law 286/2003, which defines for the first time the Com.It.Es. “representative bodies of Italians abroad in relations with diplomatic-consular representations”;
in this way, their role is enhanced, both in relation to the communities of which they are an expression, and to the consular authority. In fact, the new law emphasizes the close relationships of collaboration and cooperation that must be established between the Consular Authority and the Committees, also through the “regular flow of information”.
With regard to their functions, the Com.It.Es., also through studies and research, contribute to identifying the needs of social, cultural and civil development of the community of reference; Particular attention is paid to the participation of young people, equal opportunities, social and educational assistance, vocational training, the recreational sector, sport and leisure. The Committees are also called upon to cooperate with the Consular Authority in the protection of the rights and interests of Italian citizens residing in the Consular Jurisdiction. Following the March 2004 elections, 126 Com.It.Es are now operating in 38 countries: of these, 69 are in Europe, 23 in Latin America, 4 in Central America, 16 in North America, 7 in Asia and 7 in Africa.
ELECTIONS OF THE COMMITTEES OF ITALIANS ABROAD
The members of the COMITES are elected on the basis of lists of candidates signed by Italian citizens residing in each consular district. Italian citizens of legal age residing abroad, registered on the electoral rolls, can vote by mail (according to the system provided for by Law 459 of 2001), without having to go in person to the polling station, as was the case in the past.
In order to enable citizens to vote by mail, the consular office sends to each voter’s home, within the deadline provided for by law, an envelope containing all the electoral material and an information sheet illustrating the voting procedures.
The citizen casts his vote, taking care to follow the instructions carefully, then returns the ballot paper by mail to his consular office, using the already stamped envelope. The envelope should be sent as soon as possible.
THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF ITALIANS ABROAD (C.G.I.E)
Established by Law No. 368 of 6 November 1989 (amended by Law No. 198 of 18 June 1998), and regulated by Presidential Decree No. 329 of 14 September 1998, the C.G.I.E. carries out consultative activities for the Government on major issues of interest to Italians abroad. It represents the first step in the process of developing active “participation” in the political life of the country by Italian communities in the world and constitutes the essential body for their permanent connection with Italy.
The General Council of Italians Abroad meets at the level of the Plenary Assembly, Continental Commissions and Thematic Commissions. It is composed of 94 members, of which 65 are directly elected by Italians abroad every five years through local electoral assemblies (the last elections took place in June 2004, based on a geographical distribution defined by a Decree of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on May 4, 2004). To the elected members, 29 appointed by Decree of the President of the Council of Ministers are added, on the designation of national emigration associations, parties with parliamentary representation, trade unions, and the most representative patronages.
The President of the CGIE is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, while the positions of Secretary-General (who convenes the Plenary Assembly and the Presidential Committee, directs their work, and executes the decisions made); the four Deputy Secretaries-General for the three geographical areas (Europe and North Africa; Latin America; Non-European English-speaking countries) and for the group of members appointed by the Government; and the Presidential Committee (composed of a total of 17 members), which meets at least six times a year, are elective. In the two annual Plenary Assemblies, the CGIE, an advisory body, examines the problems of Italian communities abroad, formulates opinions, proposals, and recommendations regarding legislative or administrative initiatives of the State or Regions, international agreements, and community regulations concerning Italian communities abroad. Specifically, the CGIE provides mandatory opinions on government orientations concerning the following areas: state allocations in favor of communities abroad; multi-year programs and related funding for school policy, professional training, and social and welfare protection; criteria for allocating contributions to national associations, patronages, professional training bodies, press and information organizations; radio and television programs for communities abroad; reform lines of consular, school, and social services.
ELECTIONS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF ITALIANS ABROAD
The CGIE is composed of 94 members with a five-year term. Of these, 65 are elected to represent the Italian communities residing abroad.
Elected members are chosen by an assembly formed for each country – or group of countries – by duly constituted COMITES and Italian community associations, with the number not exceeding 30% of COMITES members in European countries and 45% in transoceanic countries.
In countries where COMITES are not established, Italian community associations operating there for at least five years propose to the diplomatic representation a number of names double that provided.
The remaining 29 government-appointed members are designated as follows:
- 10 by national emigration associations;
- 7 by parties with parliamentary representation;
- 9 by the most representative trade union confederations and patronages and represented in CNEL (National Council for Economy and Labor);
- 1 by the National Press Federation;
- 1 by the Unified Federation of Italian Press Abroad;
- 1 by the most representative organization of cross-border workers.