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The Italians vote in referendums on the relaxation of citizenship rules and the strengthening of work protections in concerns that the low participation rate can consider the invalid survey.
The vote began on Sunday and will continue until Monday.
The question of citizenship on the ballot asks the Italians if they support the reduction of the period of residence required to request Italian citizenship by naturalization at five years.
A resident of a non -European country, without marriage or blood link with Italy, must currently live in the country for 10 years before being able to ask for citizenship, a process which can then take years.
Supporters claim that the reform could affect around 2.5 million foreign nationals living in the country and would bring the right of Italian citizenship in accordance with many other European nations, especially in Germany and France.
The measures were proposed by the main parts of Italian and left -wing opposition.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she would present herself to the polls but did not vote a ballot. The left criticized the action as an anti -democratic, because it would not help reach the necessary participation threshold of 50% plus one of the eligible voters to make the vote valid.
Meloni, whose far -right party of the brothers of Italy favored the reduction of undocumented immigration, while increasing the number of working visas for migrants, is strongly against.
She said Thursday that the current system “is an excellent law, among the most open, in the sense that we have been among the European nations for years which grant the greatest number of citizens each year”.
According to statistics, more than 213,500 people acquired Italian citizenship in 2023, double the number in 2020 and a fifth of the EU total.
More than 90% came from outside the EU, mainly from Albania and Morocco, as well as from Argentina and Brazil – two countries with large communities of Italian immigrants.
Even if the proposed reform passes, it will not affect the Migration Act, many consider the most unfair – that children born in Italy foreign parents can only ask for nationality.
Italian singer Ghali, born in Milan of Tunisian parents and was a frank defender to change the law for children, urged her fans to support the proposal as a step in the right direction.
“I was born here, I have always lived here, but I only received citizenship at the age of 18,” said Ghali on Instagram. “With a” yes “, we ask that five years of life, here, not, not 10 years, to be part of this country”.
Michelle Ngonmo, cultural entrepreneur and defends diversity in the fashion industry, also urged a “yes” vote.
“This referendum really concerns dignity and the right to belong, which is essential for many people born here and who have spent most of their adult life contributing to Italian society. For them, a lack of citizenship is like an invisible wall, “said Ngonmo, who lived most of his life in Italy after moving as a camerowing.
“You are good enough to work and pay taxes, but to be fully recognized as Italian. It becomes a handicap for young generations, especially in the creative field, creating frustration, exclusion and a big waste of potential,” she told the Associated Press news agency.
The other four measures on the ballot deal with the labor law, in particular better protections against dismissal, higher dismissal payments, the conversion of fixed -term contracts in case permanent and responsibility in the event of work accidents.
Opinion polls published in mid-May showed that only 46% of Italians were aware of the problems that stimulate referendums. Participation projections were even lower, at around 35% more than 51 million voters, well below the required quorum.
Many of the 78 referendums held in Italy in the past have failed due to the low participation.
The polling stations opened its doors on Sunday at 7 a.m. local time (05:00 GMT), with expected results after the surveys were closed on Monday at 3 p.m. (1:00 p.m. GMT).
