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Low Voter Turnout Invalidates Italian Citizenship and Labor Referendums

Failure to meet the quorum strengthens Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s position by dashing centre-left efforts to ease citizenship rules and tighten labor protections

People stand next to a banner in favour of five abrogative popular referendums on employment and Italian citizenship, in Milan, Italy, June 4, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Greco/File Photo
A person sits at a polling station, during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella/File Photo
People prepare to vote during a referendum on employment and Italian citizenship at a polling station in Rome, Italy, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Minnella/File Photo
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Overview

  • Turnout was roughly 30 percent, well below the 50 percent plus one threshold needed to validate the referendums.
  • Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her right-wing allies encouraged supporters to boycott the vote, with Meloni visiting a Rome polling station but choosing not to cast a ballot.
  • One referendum proposed reducing the residency requirement for naturalisation from ten to five years, a change organisers said would affect about 2.5 million non-EU immigrants.
  • Four labor questions aimed to reverse market liberalisations from the last decade and expand liability for companies over workplace accidents.
  • Opposition figures and trade union leaders criticised the abstention strategy as symptomatic of a broader democratic crisis and a setback for the centre-left coalition.