ROME — A senator says the Italian Senate will vote on whether or not to confirm ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's ban from public office before November.
Dario Stefano, head of the parliamentary commission which must formally rule on the court-ordered ban, said Monday the panel will discuss it after the legislature's vacation ends Sept. 9. A vote by the full senate would follow.
The Senate could confirm the ban and expel Berlusconi. If it broke precedent and doesn't confirm, the issue would move to the courts.
Italy's supreme court on Aug. 1 upheld Berlusconi's tax-fraud conviction, four-year prison term and ban from public office.
Because of a law to reduce prison overcrowding and his age, Berlusconi, 76, must serve only one year and can do that under house confinement.
