Lombardy obtained two more seats to the Senate, following the redistricting subsequent to the 2011 Census. For the first time in history, a senatorial election was paired with a regional election.
The election was won by the centre-right coalition between The People of Freedom and the Northern League, differently as it happened at national level and hugely contributing to create that hung parliament which was the general result of the 2013 vote. All the two coalitions lost votes to the newly created Five Star Movement of comedian Beppe Grillo and, in a minor scale, to the Civic Choice of incumbent PM Mario Monti. Ten provinces gave a plurality to the centre-right coalition, while the provinces of Milan and Mantua preferred Bersani's alliance.
The electoral law for the Senate was established in 2005 by the Calderoli Law, and it is a form of semi-proportional representation. A party presents its own closed list and it can join other parties in alliances. The coalition which receives a plurality automatically wins at least 27 seats. Respecting this condition, seats are divided between coalitions, and subsequently to party lists, using the largest remainder method with a Hare quota. To receive seats, a party must overcome the barrage of 8% of the vote if it contests a single race, or of 3% of the vote if it runs in alliance.
