Italy's constitutional court rules electoral law partially illegitimate

The Italian constitutional court on Wednesday declared the country's electoral law to be illegitimate in some of its parts.

In a written ruling, the panel of judges said the runoff in national elections provided by the legislative electoral reform governing the election of members of the Chamber of Deputies, otherwise known as the Italicum law, was unlawful with respect to the country's constitution.

They also declared invalid a provision of the law allowing top candidates to pick the constituency they want to represent when they have run in multiple electoral colleges.

The highest court, however, agreed with a key section, which provides a 54-percent majority of seats in the lower house to the party winning at least 40 percent of the votes in the first round.

The decision might have a direct impact on the timing of Italy's next general elections. In fact, the court left most of the electoral system untouched.

Furthermore, the judges wrote that the amended electoral law would be "susceptible to immediate application".

This might open the way to an early vote in spring or early summer this year. The end of the current legislature is scheduled in February 2018.

The judges did not explain in detail the reasons behind the judgment on Wednesday, but a report providing the motivations behind the ruling is expected within 30 days. Endit