Italian referendum proposals to ease citizenship laws and tighten job protection rules failed due to low voter turnout, YouTrend polling agency said, in a setback for the centre-left opposition and unions that had championed them.
Official data from about half of the polling stations showed slightly less than 30 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots at the end of two days of voting on Monday, far short of the 50 percent plus one of the electorate needed to make the vote legally binding.
The outcome is a blow for the coalition of centre-left opposition parties, civil society groups and the CGIL trade union behind the referendum questions, and a win for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who strongly opposed them.
Meloni and her right-wing allies encouraged their supporters to boycott the vote. The prime minister visited a polling station in Rome on Sunday but did not cast a vote, a tactic she had indicated that she would adopt.
Opposition forces had hoped that latching on to the issues of labour rights and Italy's demographic woes could help them challenge Meloni, something they have struggled to do since she came to power in 2022.
"The opposition wanted to turn the referendum into a vote on the Meloni government. The response is very clear: the government emerges from this stronger and the opposition is weaker", said Giovanbattista Fazzolari, a cabinet undersecretary and a close aide to Meloni.
Low turnout
One of the five referendums was about reducing the period of residence required to apply for Italian citizenship by naturalisation to five years from 10 years, which according to organisers would have affected about 2.5 million people.
In a country suffering a sharp decline in the birth rate, some economists believe attracting more foreigners is vital to boosting an anaemic economy, while rights groups campaigned for a "Yes" vote to promote the integration of migrant workers.
The other four referendum questions concerned a reversal of labour market liberalisations introduced a decade ago, and a broadening of liability rules on accidents at work for companies relying on contractors and subcontractors.
"Whether just above 30 percent or just below 30 percent, this is a low figure, below the expectations and targets set by the promoters," YouTrend's Lorenzo Pregliasco told Italian news channel SkyTG24.
According to data analysis late on Sunday by the YouTrend polling agency, turnout was higher in wealthier northern and central regions and in larger cities, and lower in the less developed south.
A higher turnout was also observed in areas where leftist parties performed well in the last general elections and in the 2024 European elections, YouTrend said.
