The new Italian electoral law approved in 2017 and nicknamed Rosatellum, provides the election of members of Parliament in 232 single-member districts for the Chamber of Deputies and in 116 for the Senate of the Republic. Whenever a seat of this kind becomes vacant, a by-election is called, and a new representative is elected.
The by-election in the constituency of San Carlo all'Arena (Naples) was held on 23 February to elect a senator for the seat left vacant by Franco Ortolani (M5S), who died on 23 November 2019.[8]
The Five Star Movement, in an internal vote, nominated engineer Luigi Napolitano, former M5S candidate in the 2019 European election. After his nomination, Napolitano was accused by Neapolitan M5S activists of having been nominated for being a close friend of the M5S leader Luigi Di Maio during university.[9]
The centre-right coalition confirmed the candidacy of Salvatore Guangi (FI), Vice President of the City Council of Naples and former centre-right candidate in the same constituency in the 2018 general election.[10]
The left-wing party Power to the People ran with Professor Giuseppe Aragno, former candidate for the same party in the same constituency in the 2018 general election.[11] Riccardo Guarino, president of the party "Neapolitan Renaissance", announced his intention to run for the election.[13]
The election was characterized by a very low turnout of only 9.52%, and saw the victory of the centre-left candidate Sandro Ruotolo with 48.5% of the votes.[14]
The by-election in the constituency of Terni was held on 8 March to elect a senator for the seat left vacant by Donatella Tesei (Lega). She was elected as the new President of the Region of Umbria after the 2019 regional election, and resigned on 2 December from her Senate seat.[15][16]
A by-election in the constituency of Sassari was held on 20–21 September 2020, to elect a senator for the seat left vacant by Vittoria Bogo Deledda (M5S), who died on 17 March 2020.[17][18]
The centre-left coalition and the Five Star Movement reached an agreement with the engineer Lorenzo Corda, while the center-right coalition supported the regional councillor Antonello Peru.[19]Italia Viva, Italia in Comune, More Europe and Italian Liberal Party instead chose to run with their own candidate, the lawyer Agostinangelo Marras.[20]
A by-election in the constituency of Villafranca di Verona was held in 20–21 September 2020, to elect a senator for the seat left vacant by Stefano Bertacco (FdI), who died on 14 June.[17][22]
