Overview

• Turnout for all five questions stood at about 30 percent, twenty points below the 50.1 percent threshold required to validate the referenda.
• Fratelli d’Italia and other center-right parties hailed the outcome as a reinforcement of Meloni’s government; the center-left cited 14 million ballots cast as a sign of continued engagement compared to 2022.
• On the citizenship question, which sought to halve residency requirements, 35 percent of participants voted ‘No’, revealing unexpected resistance among referendum voters.
• Forza Italia has proposed amending the constitution to double the required signatures for national referenda to 1 million and raise the number of regional council endorsements.
• Political parties are recalibrating their approaches for the autumn regional elections as calls grow to reform the referendum process and boost voter turnout.