The National Electoral Office at the Court of Cassation has accepted the appeal of Alternativa Popolare by Stefano Bandecchi, allowing the list to participate in the European elections. Alternativa Popolare had filed an appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal of Rome, which had initially excluded their list from the central constituency. However, the Court of Appeal of Naples had admitted AP’s list.
The National Electoral Office at the Court of Cassation stated that the Popular Alternative list meets the requirement of being affiliated with a European political party that is constituted as a parliamentary group in the European Parliament in the current legislature at the time of convening the electoral rallies. As a result, the list must be admitted to participate in the election of members of the European Parliament representing Italy. Alternativa Popolare is affiliated with the EPP and has the name ‘EPP’ in its symbol.
The National Electoral Office at the ‘Palazzaccio’ justified its decision by explaining that there are two plausible hermeneutic options regarding the exemption requirements. The Office chose to prioritize the second hermeneutic option, which is more in line with constitutional principles and previous interpretations. This decision was based on the need for stability in electoral law to ensure the integrity and credibility of electoral processes.
The Court of Cassation also highlighted that it was unlikely that the legislator, while the deadline for collecting signatures was pending, intended to deliberately change the rules regarding exemption from subscriptions. The affiliation requirement was only introduced during the conversion of Legislative Decree no. 7 of 2024, and it was considered an additional requirement only for political parties or groups already represented in the European Parliament. This decision ignored political parties or groups already represented in one of the two Chambers of the Italian Parliament.