Low Voter Turnout for Italian Referendum 2025

A highly low voter turnout was experienced for the Italian referendum proposal that eases citizenship laws and tightens job protection rules for native citizens of the country. The YouTrend polling agency said that this is a setback for the centre-left opposition and unions that championed the cause.

Official data from half of the polling booths suggest that slightly less than 30% of eligible voters had cast their ballot at the end of two days of voting. This falls far short of the 50% plus one of the electorate needed to make the vote legally binding.

The outcome of this voting process will be a blow for the coalition of centre-left opposition parties, civil society groups, and CGIL trade unions, key agents behind the referendum question. The referendum voting will also ensure a win for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who strongly opposed the referendum and the agents supporting it. Along with her right-wing allies, she encouraged supporters to boycott the vote, while the opposition forces had hoped that latching on to the issues of labour rights and its democratic vows could help them challenge the current Prime Minister. The opposition has been struggling to do the same since the lady Prime Minister came to power in 2022.

Interestingly, a higher turnout was observed in areas where left parties performed well in the last general elections and in the 2024 European elections.