The literature about electoral systems has paid little attention to candidacy rules and in particular to the rules concerning the available number of nominations per candidate. Usually these are very simple provisions, not even explicitly written in the electoral rules. However their strategic potential in PR and mixed member systems can be remarkably high. Italy is a case in point, although the analysis can be extended to other systems. For example under the Italian 1993 MMES the same candidate could be nominated in both plurality and PR tiers, while under the 2005 "hybrid" system - a closed list PR with a seat bonus- the same candidate can be nominated in any number of constituencies. This provides party leaders with a strategic device able to affect pre-electoral coalition building and MPs’ election. This paper will focus on candidacy rules in Italy, contributing to our understanding of those electoral systems’ “details” that actually prove very important for political representation.
