Preparation and submission of electoral lists. Signing and authentication of signatures.

COM.IT.ES. ELECTIONS 2026

Preparation and submission of electoral lists

Elections for the renewal of the Committees of Italians Abroad (Com.It.Es.) will take place in 2026.

Pursuant to Article 14 of Presidential Decree No. 395/2003, lists may be submitted to the Electoral Office, during office hours, from the twentieth to the thirtieth day following the calling of the elections.

The collection of signatures, the signing of the lists and the corresponding authentication of signatures may begin immediately.

Each list must include at least as many candidates as there are members of the Committee to be elected and no more than 16 candidates for Com.It.Es. composed of 12 members, or 22 candidates for Com.It.Es. composed of 18 members (Presidential Decree No. 395/2003, Article 14, paragraph 2).

Each list, bearing its own identifying symbol, shall be submitted by one of the candidates or one of its signatories. The person submitting the list shall declare their address for the purposes of subsequent notifications.

Documentation

Declarations concerning the submission of lists of candidates (Annex 1) may be signed on separate documents (sheets). The separate documents used to collect signatures (Annex 2) must include the list’s identifying symbol and the names of all candidates.

Each list of candidates—with each candidate identified by surname, first name, place and date of birth, as well as the sequential number assigned by the person submitting the list—must be accompanied by the following documentation:

1. Declarations of acceptance of candidacy (Annex 3) from each candidate, duly signed and authenticated;
2. Certificates, including collective certificates, confirming that the electors are registered on the electoral rolls of the relevant constituency. These certificates shall be issued by the Consular Office at the request of the persons concerned and on the basis of the records held by the Office, starting from the fifteenth day following the date on which the elections were called, within a mandatory deadline of twenty-four hours from the request (Presidential Decree No. 395/2003, Article 14, paragraph 8);
3. The appointment of one principal representative and one alternate representative to the Constituency Electoral Committee;
4. The signatures required by law, together with their corresponding authentications. For each signatory, the list must indicate their surname, first name, place and date of birth, as well as the electoral certificate referred to in point b).

Please note that each list, bearing its own identifying symbol, must be submitted by one of the candidates or one of its signatories to the Electoral Office, during office hours, from the twentieth to the thirtieth day following the date on which the elections were called.

Signing of lists and authentication of signatures

Pursuant to the legislation in force (Article 13, paragraph 1, of Law No. 286/2003), signatories of the lists must have resided within the consular district for at least six months and must appear on the electoral registers for the Com.It.Es. elections. Signatories may not be candidates and may not sign more than one list; otherwise, their signature shall be deemed invalid.

Article 15, paragraph 3, of Law No. 286/2003 establishes that lists of candidates must be signed by a number of electors:

• Not fewer than 100 for communities consisting of up to 50,000 resident Italian citizens;
• Not fewer than 200 for communities consisting of more than 50,000 resident Italian citizens.

The following information must be provided for each signatory:

• Surname;
• First name;
• Place and date of birth.

Pursuant to the legislation in force, signatures may only be authenticated by first-category Consular Offices; Honorary Consuls are therefore excluded. Authentication is always free of charge (Article 34 of Presidential Decree No. 395/2003).

To facilitate the signing of the lists and the corresponding authentication of signatures, interested parties may visit the Embassy during the following hours:

A special opening is also scheduled for 19 September, from 09:00 to 12:00.

The Consular Section will also be open on Saturday, 3 October 2026, the final day for submitting candidate lists, from 09:00 to 12:00.

For further information, please contact the Embassy at the dedicated email address ambpanama.elettorale@esteri.it.

At the time of signing, the signatory must provide a valid identification document—passport or identity card—bearing a photograph of the holder and issued by an Italian public authority or by the public authority of another country.

Mobile consular visits for signing electoral lists and authenticating signatures

As part of the preparation and submission of electoral lists, and to facilitate the collection of supporting signatures, the Embassy of Italy in Panama is available to arrange mobile consular visits, should the need arise, to areas of the country farther from Panama City. These visits will enable individuals who face practical difficulties travelling to the Embassy to sign electoral lists and have their signatures authenticated.

Interested individuals and list coordinators wishing to notify the Embassy of such a need are invited to contact the Electoral Office as soon as possible at ambpanama.elettorale@esteri.it, specifying the location, the contact details of a designated contact person and the approximate number of people who may participate.

The feasibility of arranging these visits will be assessed based on the requests received and the Embassy’s operational requirements. The dates, times and locations of any scheduled visits will be announced promptly on this page.

Requirements

Pursuant to Article 16 of Presidential Decree No. 395/2003, a candidacy shall not be admitted:

• If the candidate is under the age of 18;
• If the candidacy is submitted for more than one list;
• If the candidate does not reside within the consular district;
• If the declaration of acceptance of candidacy is missing.

Pursuant to Article 6 of Presidential Decree No. 395/2003, Italian citizens shall be eligible for election if they:

• Reside within the consular district;
• Are candidates on one—and only one—of the lists submitted and in one constituency only;
• Are registered on the updated list referred to in Article 5, paragraph 1, of Law No. 459/2001;
• Meet the requirements for standing as candidates in local administrative elections, namely those set out in Article 55 (Right to stand for election), paragraph 1, of Legislative Decree No. 267/2000, including having reached the age of 18 on the date established for voting.

The following persons shall not be eligible for election:

• Employees of the Italian State serving abroad, including locally contracted staff;
• Persons holding institutional offices and their salaried staff members;
• Directors and legal representatives—as identified in the deed of incorporation and bylaws—of entities managing educational activities within the Committee’s territory;
• Directors and legal representatives—as identified in the deed of incorporation and bylaws—of welfare committees receiving public funding;
• Persons falling within the circumstances set out in Articles 60 (Ineligibility) and 61 (Ineligibility and incompatibility with the offices of mayor and president of a province) of Legislative Decree No. 267/2000;
• Persons falling within the circumstances set out in Articles 10 (Disqualification from standing in provincial, municipal and constituency elections) and 11 (Suspension and automatic removal from office of local administrators who are disqualified from standing for election) of Legislative Decree No. 235/2012;
• Persons who have already served as members of the same Committee for two consecutive terms.

Personal data protection notice: Annex 4.