Former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been expelled from the Italian Senate over his tax fraud conviction.
The vote to remove him bars the 77-year-old from office for at least six years, but does not mark the end of his political career.
Berlusconi maintained his defiance ahead of the vote, declaring a “day of mourning for democracy” before thousands of cheering, flag-waving supporters outside his Roman palazzo.
Even though Berlusconi will not hold a seat in parliament, he is expected to remain influential in Italian politics.
He has relaunched his Forza Italia party and analysts estimate he still commands millions of supporters.
“Today they are toasting because they can take an adversary, they say a friend, in front of the executioner’s squad,” Berlusconi said.
“It is the day they have been waiting for for 20 years.”
He pledged to continue his role as a political leader, citing other figures not in parliament, namely the founder of the Five Star Movement, Beppe Grillo, and Matteo Renzi of the Democratic Party, tipped by many as a future premier candidate.
“Also, from outside the parliament, we can continue to fight for our liberty,” he said.
Supporters were treated to a video montage of Berlusconi’s greatest political hits from a career that began in 1994 when he first came to power.
He said that even if he’s no longer a senator, he will continue to be a force to reckon with.
“For us he will always be there,” said Marilda Antonello as she held a banner reading “The law is not equal for everyone. Sick justice.”
The Senate vote on whether to remove Berlusconi from the chamber stems from a 2012 law that bans anyone sentenced to more than two years in prison from holding or running for public office for six years.
His lawyers claim the law is unconstitutional and have questioned the rush to expel him while legal challenges are still pending.
Italy’s high court in August upheld Berlusconi’s tax fraud conviction and four-year prison term stemming from his Mediaset empire’s purchase of television rights to US films.