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Italy’s citizenship referendum fails after voters heed Giorgia Meloni call for boycott

Low turnout for two-day plebiscite aimed at granting faster citizenship to immigrants garners below 50% threshold needed to pass

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited a polling station on Sunday but refused to cast her ballot © Andrea Calandra/IMAGO/Reuters

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who visited a polling station on Sunday but refused to cast her ballot © Andrea Calandra/IMAGO/Reuters

An Italian referendum on granting faster citizenship to immigrants has failed due to a low turnout, as voters heeded Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s call to boycott the ballot.

About 30 per cent of eligible voters participated in the two-day referendum that sought to halve the time migrants must live in Italy before they can seek citizenship, according to the Italian ministry of interior. At least 50 per cent of eligible voters were required for the vote to pass.

The referendum, backed by leftwing opposition and activist groups, sought to repeal a law dating back to 1992 that mandated 10 years of residency for foreigners from outside the EU, up from a previous five-year requirement.  

Had the referendum succeeded, 2.5mn foreign migrants already in Italy for five years or longer could have been eligible to apply for citizenship immediately, proponents said.

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Author: Amy Kazmin in Rome

Source: Financial Times

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