Italian parties participating in general and European elections 2001-2024
The number of political parties admitted by the Ministry of Interior to take part in the parliamentary and European elections has progressively decreased. From 2001 to 2013, the factions contesting in the general elections always remained above 139, reflecting the vast fragmentation of the Italian party system. However, in the last decade, this number has dropped to 75 associations accepted for the 2018 and 2022 parliamentary vote, while only 34 were admitted to the 2024 EU election. Overall, there have always been significantly fewer parties participating in European elections than in national votes.