Because of the political imbalances created by the previous electoral system, which potentially allowed the election of a candidate to the presidency without giving him a majority in the Regional Council as it happened after the 1999 election, in 2003 Sardinia adopted a new electoral law.

The new electoral system was the national Tatarella Law of 1995, used by most of Italian regions to elect their Council. Sixty-four councillors were elected in provincial constituencies by proportional representation using the largest remainder method with a Droop quota and open lists; remained seats and votes were grouped at regional level where a Hare quota is used, and then distributed to provincial party lists.

Nine councillors were elected at-large using a general ticket: parties were grouped in alliances, and the alliance which received a plurality of votes elected all its candidates, its leader becoming the President of Sardinia. A possible second round election between the two main candidates was abolished.

According to the official 2001 Italian census, the 64 Council seats which must be covered by proportional representation were so distributed between Sardinian provinces.

It must be underlined that this allocation is not fixed. Remained seats and votes after proportional distribution, are all grouped at regional level and divided by party lists.

Source: Regional Council of Sardinia Archived 2022-07-09 at the Wayback Machine