The 2025 Italian referendum, officially the 2025 Abrogative Referendums in Italy (), were held on 8 and 9 June, concurrently with the second round of the

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. The objective of the referendums was the repeal of four labor laws, two of which were originally introduced as part of the

Jobs Act The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or JOBS Act, is a law intended to encourage funding of small businesses in the United States by easing many of the country's securities regulations. It passed with bipartisan support, and was signed int ...

in 2016, and an amendment to the law on the acquisition of Italian citizenship by foreign residents. The referendum question on the request for Italian citizenship was initially promoted by the secretary of

More Europe More Europe ( or ''+Europa''; +E or +Eu) is a liberal and pro-European political party in Italy, part of the centre-left coalition and member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party. History Foundation More Europe was laun ...

Riccardo Magi as well as by the parties Possibile,

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...

Italian Radicals The Italian Radicals (, RI) are a liberal and libertarian political party in Italy. The party draws inspiration form 19th-century classical radicalism and the Radical Party. The RI are a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Eur ...

and

Communist Refoundation Party The Communist Refoundation Party (, PRC) is a Communism, communist List of political parties in Italy, political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo, who r ...

and numerous

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere. The referendum questions on work, instead, were promoted by the

Italian General Confederation of Labour The Italian General Confederation of Labour (, , CGIL ) is a national trade union centre in Italy. It was formed by an agreement between socialists, communists, and Christian democrats in the "Pact of Rome" of June 1944. In 1950, socialists and ...

with a public collection of signatures, which gathered over four million signatures. All five questions were declared admissible by the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

during the council chamber of 20 January 2025, in which instead the proposal for a referendum to repeal the Calderoli law on differentiated autonomy was rejected, declared inadmissible. For the result to be valid, at least 50% + 1 eligible voters

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

had to be reached with at least 50% of participants approving. But, none of the referendums reached the required turnout, and the results were consequently rendered void.

Referendum initiative

Referendum on labour

After numerous strikes and demonstrations against the labour reform introduced by the Jobs Act in March 2014 by the

Renzi government The Renzi government was the 63rd government of the Italy, Italian Republic, in office from February 2014 to December 2016. It was led by Matteo Renzi, secretary and leader of the centre-left Democratic Party (Italy), Democratic Party (PD). The ...

, in 2016 the CGIL launched a campaign to collect signatures to carry out a referendum to restore the protections of Article 18 of the Workers' Statute for unlawful dismissals and extend them to all companies with at least five employees: this article, which provided for the reinstatement of the worker in the workplace in the case of unlawful dismissal, had been amended in 2015 by the Jobs Act, which instead provided for economic compensation. The CGIL managed to collect 3.3 million signatures throughout Italy; however, on 11 January 2017 the Constitutional Court declared the referendum question inadmissible because it had also been badly formulated in a proactive manner in order to extend the protection of Article 18 to companies with fewer than 15 employees. Further questions concerning the abolition of work vouchers and the repeal of the provisions limiting joint and several liability in the field of contracting were instead admitted by the Constitutional Court, so the date of 28 May 2017 was set for the abrogative referendums to be held; however, the Gentiloni government urgently approved Decree-Law no. 25 of 17 March 2017, which abrogated the provisions subject to the referendum, which was therefore annulled after the entry into force of the conversion law No. 49 of 20 April 2017. In the general assembly of 26 March 2024, the CGIL approved the launch of a on four issues relating to work, three of which related to points of the ''Jobs Act'' reform (implemented by the

), as part of an overall mobilization strategy that also included a

general strike A general strike is a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coalitions ...

(later held on 11 April), general demonstrations, popular initiative bills and support for disputes over the renewal of

collective agreements A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...

. The general secretary of the union, Maurizio Landini, officially announced the launch of the signature collection for the following 25 April, on the occasion of the Anniversary of the Liberation, with numerous initiatives and stalls in various cities. The referendum campaign was accompanied by the slogan "For stable, dignified, protected and safe work I'll put my signature"; each of the four adjectives included in the sentence referred to one of the questions posed. On 12 June 2024, the organizing secretary of the CGIL, Luigi Giove, announced that the campaign had reached and exceeded the 500,000 signatures required under Article 75 of the

Italian Constitution The Constitution of the Italian Republic () was ratified on 22 December 1947 by the Constituent Assembly, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against, before coming into force on 1 January 1948, one century after the previous Constitution of the Ki ...

. The signatures, quantified by Landini at four million, were finally deposited in the Supreme Court of Cassation on the following July 19. All four questions were declared legal by the on 12 December 2024. They were declared admissible by the Constitutional Court on 20 January 2025, with rulings filed on 7 February.

Referendum on citizenship

The referendum question that required halving the years of legal residence to apply for Italian citizenship was initiated by

secretary Riccardo Magi, who filed it with the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

on 4 September 2024, less than a month before the deadline for collecting signatures. The promoters of the referendum include the political parties

, Possibile,

and

, numerous associations of people with a migrant background such as Italians without citizenship, CoNNGI (National Coordination of New Italian Generations) and Idem Network and other organizations including Libera, , A Buon Diritto and Società della Ragione, as well as various personalities such as (former National Guarantor of the rights of persons deprived of personal liberty),

Luigi Manconi Luigi Manconi (born 21 February 1948) is an Italian academic and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a senator from 1994 to 2001 and again from 2013 to 2018. Early life and career Manconi graduated in Political Sciences at th ...

and (president of ). The issue of the citizenship law, already at the centre of failed attempts at amendment in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

on several occasions, had returned to the attention of public opinion after the

2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad () and branded as Paris 2024, were an international multi-sport event held in France from 26 July to 11 August 2024, with several events started from 24 July. P ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

which had seen the successes of many Italian athletes of foreign origin (such as

Paola Egonu Paola Ogechi Egonu (; born 18 December 1998) is an Italian professional volleyball player. She plays for Italian volleyball club Vero Volley Milano and is part of the Italy women's national volleyball team. Early life Egonu was born in Cittad ...

and Myriam Sylla, winners of the

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

for the women's national volleyball team) who in the past had struggled to be officially recognised as Italian. Given the tight

deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

of September 30, the promoting committee focused almost exclusively on digital signature collection using the new free platform made available for this purpose by the Government starting from July 26 and already successfully used for the signature collection for the referendum against differentiated autonomy. Despite the short time available, thanks also to the push of personalities such as the historian

Alessandro Barbero Alessandro Barbero (born 30 April 1959) is an Italian historian and writer, especially essayist. Barbero was born in Turin, Italy. He attended the University of Turin, where he studied literature and Medieval history. He won the 1996 Strega ...

, the writer

Roberto Saviano Roberto Saviano (; born 22 September 1979) is an Italian writer, journalist, and screenwriter. In his writings, including articles and his book ''Gomorrah (book), Gomorrah'', he uses literature and investigative reporting to tell of the economic ...

, the cartoonist Zerocalcare, the director

Matteo Garrone Matteo Garrone is an Italian filmmaker. Early life Matteo Garrone was born in Rome, Italy, the son of a theatre critic, Nico Garrone and a photographer, Donatella Rimoldi. Career In 1996 Garrone won the ''Sacher d'Oro'', an award sponsored b ...

, the singers Ghali,

Dargen D'Amico Jacopo D'Amico (born November 27, 1980), known by his stage name Dargen D'Amico (), is an Italian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and disc jockey. He started his career in 1997, as member of the rap group Sacre Scuole, with Gué Peq ...

and Malika Ayane, the actress

Kasia Smutniak Katarzyna Anna "Kasia" Smutniak (; born 13 August 1979) is a Polish-Italian actress. Personal life Smutniak was born in Piła, Poland. Her father, Brigadier General Zenon Smutniak, is a military pilot and served in the Polish Air Force. At 1 ...

and the coach of the women's national volleyball team

Julio Velasco Julio Velasco (born 9 February 1952) is an Argentine former professional volleyball player and coach. He obtained Italian citizenship in 1992. Velasco was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2005. He is the head coach of ...

, the referendum reached the goal of 500,000 signatures on September 25. The signatures, which finally reached the number of 637,487, were deposited by the promoters at the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

on September 30. The question was declared compliant with the law by the on 12 December 2024 and declared admissible by the

on 20 January 2025, with a ruling filed on 7 February.

Questions

First question

* Card colour: Green * Ballot:

Esterno scheda quesito 1 referendum abrogativi 2025

Interno scheda quesito 1 referendum abrogativi 2025

* Title: Employment contract with increasing protections – regulation of unlawful dismissals: Repeal * Description: The question proposes to completely repeal the current legislation which prevents, in companies with more than 15 employees, the reinstatement of workers who have been dismissed unlawfully, if they were hired starting from 7 March 2015, even in the case in which the judge declares the interruption of the relationship unjust or unfounded; these employees are currently entitled exclusively to compensation ranging from 6 to 36 months of salary, in addition to unpaid wages and other contributions for the period between dismissal and the sentence. Reinstatement is expected only in cases of dismissals that are null or discriminatory. These rules were introduced by Legislative Decree no. 23 of 2015, a part of the Jobs Act reform implemented by the

and later modified by various rulings of the

. If the referendum is approved, the previous rules would be reinstated, that is Article 18 of the Workers' Statute of 1970, later modified by the Fornero labour reform of 2012: in this way, the possibility of reinstatement in cases of unlawful dismissal would once again apply to all workers, but always within the limits set by the Fornero reform. As a result, compensation for individual dismissals would be limited to a range of 12 to 24 months of salary; instead, employees involved in collective dismissals (involving at least five people) judged to be unlawful would be reinstated.

Second question

* Card colour: Orange * Ballot:

Esterno scheda quesito 2 referendum abrogativi 2025

Interno scheda quesito 2 referendum abrogativi 2025

* Title: Small Businesses - Layoffs and related compensation: partial repeal * Description:

Third question

* Card colour: Grey * Ballot:

Esterno scheda quesito 3 referendum abrogativi 2025

Interno scheda quesito 3 referendum abrogativi 2025

* Title: Partial repeal of provisions on the application of a term to subordinate employment contracts, maximum duration and conditions for extensions and renewals * Description:

Fourth question

* Card colour: Red * Ballot:

Esterno scheda quesito 4 referendum abrogativi 2025

Interno scheda quesito 4 referendum abrogativi 2025

* Title: Exclusion of joint liability of the client, the contractor and the subcontractor for injuries suffered by the employee of a contracting or subcontracting company, as a consequence of the specific risks inherent in the activity of the contracting or subcontracting companies: Repeal * Description:

Fifth question

* Card colour: Yellow * Ballot:

Esterno scheda quesito 5 referendum abrogativi 2025

Interno scheda quesito 5 referendum abrogativi 2025

* Title: Italian citizenship: Halving from 10 to 5 years of the time of legal residence in Italy of the non-EU adult foreigner for the request for the granting of Italian citizenship * Description:

Questions dismissed

A further question concerning the total repeal of the Calderoli law on differentiated autonomy, supported by almost all the opposition parties to the

Meloni Government The Meloni government is the 68th and current government of the Italian Republic, the first headed by Giorgia Meloni, leader of Brothers of Italy, who is also the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister of Italy. The government was swor ...

and by various associations, had collected the necessary signatures to be filed with the Court of Cassation, as well as being formally requested by five regional councils (of

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

and

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

). However, on 20 January 2025 the question was declared inadmissible by the Constitutional Court following its previous ruling no. 192/2024, which had declared many parts of the law unconstitutional, with the consequence of having made the object of the question objectively obscure – significantly reduced as a result of the aforementioned ruling – as well as lacking clarity as to its purpose. Precisely because of sentence no. 192/2024, a second question of partial repeal of the law requested by the same 5 regional councils had already been considered outdated by the Central Office for the Referendum of the Court of Cassation.

Positions

Main political parties

The following table lists all the positions taken by the political parties present in the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...

and

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

or associated with one of the committees promoting the questions.

Main trade unions

The following table lists all the positions, if any of the main Italian

trade unions A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

, whether or not they are associated with one of the committees promoting the questions.

Referendum committees

On 10 March 2025, the president of the citizenship referendum committee, Riccardo Magi, and his correspondent for the referendums on work, Maurizio Landini, announced that they would attend a meeting, held the following day, with the Secretary of the Council of Ministers,

Alfredo Mantovano Alfredo Mantovano (born 14 January 1958) is an Italian politician and magistrate. Biography Born in Lecce on 14 January 1958, he graduated in law at the Sapienza University of Rome in 1981. In 1983 he began his career as a magistrate. He has b ...

, and the

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, Matteo Piantedosi, requesting the possibility of voting for students, workers and out-of-town patients, as well as the calling of a single ''election day'' for the referendum and administrative elections and adequate media coverage by the

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

networks and other broadcasters. On 13 March, the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

established that the referendums would be held on Sunday 8 and Monday 9 June of the same year, at the same time as the run-off round of the administrative elections, in contrast with the request of the promoters to make the date of the consultations coincide with the first round of the aforementioned elections. On the same occasion, the approval of a decree-law was announced which would have allowed voters who had been away from home for study, work or medical reasons for at least three months before the referendum to request to vote in a polling station other than their municipality of residence, by submitting an application by 5 May.

Committees for Yes

Committees for No

Civil society and organisations

On April 28, 2025, an appeal to vote in favor of all the referendums was published by forty prominent figures from research and academia, including

Giorgio Parisi Giorgio Parisi (born 4 August 1948) is an Italian theoretical physicist, whose research has focused on quantum field theory, statistical mechanics In physics, statistical mechanics is a mathematical framework that applies statistical methods ...

, Silvio Garattini, Donatella della Porta, Nadia Urbinati, Salvatore Settis, Marco Doria, Luigi Ferrajoli, and Maria Cecilia Guerra, a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

. On May 10, another similar appeal was published, promoted by a group of workers affiliated with the SLC CGIL union in Milan and signed, among others, by Angela Finocchiaro,

Paolo Fresu Paolo Fresu (; born 10 February 1961) is an Italian jazz trumpet and flugelhorn player, as well as a composer and arranger of music. His unique trumpet sound is recognized as one of the most distinctive in the contemporary jazz scene. Fresu pla ...

, Lella Costa, Lino Guanciale, Marina Massironi, Francesco Paolantoni, Serena Dandini, the

Punkreas Punkreas is an Italian punk bands formed in Parabiago, Milan, in 1989. In more than twenty years of activity Punkreas had only one lineup change, while recording an album every two years. The current band members are Cippa ( voice), Flaco (ele ...

Ricky Gianco Ricky Gianco (born Riccardo Sanna on 18 February 1943), formerly known as Ricky Sann, is an Italian singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer, considered one of the founders of Italian rock music. Career Born in Lodi, Gianco started ...

, and Elio De Capitani.

, Alfiero Grandi and the FNSI have promoted a vote in favor of all the five questions; whereas Maurizio Ambrosini and the general director of Save the Children Italy, Daniela Fatarella, publicly supported only the referendum on citizenship. More generic appeals to vote, without specific endorsements, came from

Geppi Cucciari Maria Giuseppina "Geppi" Cucciari (born 18 August 1973) is an Italian stand-up comedian, actress, radio host and television presenter. Life and career Born in Cagliari, Cucciari spent her youth in Macomer, in the province of Nuoro. She studi ...

, Marco Mengoni,

Valeria Solarino Valeria Solarino (born 4 November 1978) is an Italian actress, born in Venezuela. Life and career She was born in Barcelona, Venezuela to a Sicilian father and Turinese mother. After studying philosophy at the University of Turin, she debut ...

, Michele Serra, Maurizio Crozza, Vera Gheno and

Piero Pelù Pietro "Piero" Pelù (; born 10 February 1962) is an Italian singer-songwriter. One of the most popular artists of the Italian rock scene, he is known for being the lead singer and co-founder of the band Litfiba, as well as for his solo activi ...

. On May 19, 2025, over fifty

mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

from various Italian cities published a general appeal encouraging participation in the referendum. AGESCI and the

Focolare Movement The Focolare Movement is an international organisation of spiritual and social renewal and Christian new religious movement that promotes the ideals of unity and universal brother/sisterhood grounded in the Golden Rule. It was founded by then e ...

have adopted the same line as the CEI;

Azione Cattolica The Azione Cattolica Italiana, or Azione Cattolica (English: Catholic Action) for short, is a widespread Roman Catholic lay association in Italy. Members believe that priests have an ethical and religious duty to support the rights of the oppress ...

and the

Community of Sant'Egidio The Community of Sant'Egidio () is a lay Catholic association dedicated to social service, founded in 1968 under the leadership of Andrea Riccardi. The group grew and in 1973 was given a home at the former Carmelite monastery and church of ...

have promoted the vote in favor of the question on citizenship, while " Compagnia delle Opere" and Christian Workers Movement have sided in favor of abstention.

Student organisations

A dedicated student committee titled "Il Futuro Passa dal Sì – Studenti per il 5 Sì" () was formed by the Rete degli Studenti Medi and the Unione degli universitari. This initiative focused on promoting youth engagement and supporting a 'Yes' vote across all five referendum questions. While aligned with the broader objectives of the national Comitato per i Referendum sul Lavoro 2025, the student committee operated autonomously, organizing events, assemblies, and communication campaigns in schools and universities. The committee framed the referendums as directly impacting students' futures, particularly regarding job security, fair employment practices, and access to citizenship. The initiative also intersected with the "Io Voto Fuori Sede" campaign, advocating for students’ voting rights when living away from their registered residence, an issue that affects electoral participation among mobile youth populations.

Campaigns

On February 12 and 13, 2025, during a national meeting of the CGIL at the

PalaDozza PalaDozza is an indoor sporting arena located at Piazza Azzarita Manfredi 8, in Bologna, Italy. It was named after Giuseppe Dozza, the long-time communist mayor of Bologna, who served from 1945 to 1966. In Italy, the arena is frequently nickname ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, the referendum campaign on labor-related questions was launched, while the organizations and parties promoting the citizenship referendum held an official assembly on March 7 at the ExtraLibera venue in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. On April 11 and 12, the CGIL organized the “Futura 2025” event at the Camera del Lavoro in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, featuring a series of discussions on the content and goals of the five referendum questions. Manifesto referendum 2025

On April 28, 2025, an appeal in support of all the referendums was published by forty academics and researchers, including the Nobel Prize winner in Physics

, Donatella della Porta, Nadia Urbinati, the founder of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research Silvio Garattini, Salvatore Settis, former

mayor of Genoa The mayor of Genoa (Italian language, Italian: ''sindaco di Genova'') is an elected politician who, along with the Genoa City Council of 40 members, is accountable for the strategic government of the municipality of Genoa, Liguria, Italy. Lis ...

, Marco Doria, and

Maria Cecilia Guerra. Maurizio Ambrosini and Daniela Fatarella, general director of Save the Children Italia, publicly supported the citizenship referendum, while

endorsed voting “yes” on all five questions. Additionally, General voting appeals, without specific endorsements came from

, Marco Mengoni,

, Michele Serra and Maurizio Crozza. On the evening of May 14, 2025, some members of the committee promoting the citizenship referendum projected the campaign logo onto the facade of

Palazzo Chigi The Chigi Palace ( ) is a palace and former noble residence in Rome which is the seat of the Council of Ministers and the official residence of the Prime Minister of Italy. It is located in the Piazza Colonna, next to Palazzo Montecitorio, s ...

during a

flash mob A flash mob (or flashmob) is a group of people that assembles suddenly in a public place, performs for a brief time, then quickly disperses, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and/or artistic expression. Flash mobs may be organize ...

held in

Piazza Colonna Piazza Colonna is a piazza at the center of the Rione of Colonna in the historic heart of Rome, Italy. It is named for the marble Column of Marcus Aurelius, which has stood there since AD 193. The bronze statue of Saint Paul that crowns the col ...

in Rome. During a Pro-Palestinian protest which took place on June 7, 2025, the day before the referendum, and which hosted over 300,000 people, all the organizers went up on the stage and told people to vote «Yes» to all of the referendums.

Communication via mass media

On 2 April 2025, the Rai Parliamentary Supervisory Commission issued a resolution to regulate communication, the organization of the electoral tribunes and the self-managed messages on the five referendum. Towards the end of April, the referendum committees organized a series of demonstrations in front of regional

Rai (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

offices in various cities, calling for the public broadcaster to ensure a higher level of information on the upcoming votes. On 8 April, the

Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni Autorità per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni (; AGCOM) is the national regulatory agency for the communication industries in Italy. Administrative leadership The 4 members of Agcom board are elected by the Parliament (2 by the Senate, 2 by th ...

(AGCOM) published a resolution on the rules regarding political communication and equal access to the media for the referendum campaigns, aimed at newspapers, magazines, online outlets, polling agencies, and broadcasting stations. On 13 May, AGCOM also issued a warning to Rai and all other national TV and radio broadcasters to ensure "accurate, impartial, and complete information on the referendum questions and the arguments supporting each voting option".

Accusations of restrictions on campaigning

In May 2025, during an interview for ''

Avvenire (English: "Future") is a daily newspaper which is affiliated with the Catholic Church and is based in Milan, Italy. History and profile was founded in 1968 in Milan through the merger of two Catholic newspapers: of Bologna and of Milan. The ...

'', Antonella Soldo, coordinator of the promoting committee for the citizenship referendum, accused the organizers of the " Concerto del Primo Maggio" in Rome of not allowing the hosts and performers to include references to the referendum in their speeches. She also stated that a flash mob organized on the same day by the committee in

Piazza San Giovanni Piazza San Giovanni is a city square in Florence, Italy. Buildings around the square *Florence Baptistery The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John (), is a religious building in Florence, Italy. Dedicated to the pat ...

in Laterano had been blocked by "about fifteen undercover police officers" due to the lack of authorization. On 10 May, four CGIL trade unionists and a security staff member of a shopping center in Rome were identified by a patrol of the

Polizia di Stato The (State Police or P.S.) is one of the national Law enforcement in Italy, police forces of Italy. Alongside the Carabinieri, it is the main police force for providing police duties, primarily to cities and large towns, and with its child agen ...

, following a dispute over the union members' distribution of flyers in favor of the referendums. On 14 May 2025, during a question time in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

, the MP and citizenship referendum promoter Riccardo Magi entered the chamber dressed as a ghost, accusing the

Meloni government The Meloni government is the 68th and current government of the Italian Republic, the first headed by Giorgia Meloni, leader of Brothers of Italy, who is also the first woman to hold the office of Prime Minister of Italy. The government was swor ...

of poor information about the five questions and protesting the ruling coalition parties’ call for abstention. The gesture, for which Magi was expelled from the chamber, was compared to a similar one by the

Radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

activist

Marco Pannella Marco Pannella (born Giacinto Pannella; 2 May 1930 – 19 May 2016) was an Italian politician, journalist and activist. He was well known in his country for his nonviolence and civil rights' campaigns, like the 1974 Italian divorce referendum, ...

during the hunting referendum of 1997.

Debates

From 12 May to 6 June, organized a series of 45 televised debates (two per day, then three starting from 2 June) on

Rai 1 Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship television channel and is known for broadcasting ...

Rai 2 Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting '' TG2'' news bulletins, ta ...

, and

Rai 3 Rai 3 (formerly Rai Tre) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural a ...

, in addition to 45 radio debates. Furthermore, self-managed messages supporting or opposing the questions were also broadcast on Rai 3 and ''Rai''’s radio channels.

Polls

Turnout

Questions

Outcome

Urne referendum abrogativi in Italia 2025

The

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district ...

for the 5 referendum questions was 51,301,377 voters, of which 45,997,941 in Italy (registered in 61,591 sections) and 5,303,436 abroad (registered in 1,863 consular districts). The quorum was reached in only 28 Italian municipalities (of which 11 engaged in administrative elections), with the primacy of

Rosello Rosello () is a village and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region of Central Italy. A number of city-dwellers have summer homes in the area. Geography The village borders the following ''comuni'': Agnone, B ...

(

Chieti Chieti (, ; , , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Southern Italy, east of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti, in the Abruzzo, Abruzzo region. In Italian, the adjectival form is ''teatino'' and inhabitants of Chieti ar ...

) with a 66% turnout; in the foreign constituency the

was reached in 13 countries, including

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

where there was a turnout of 102.41%. In accordance with the combined provisions of Law 459/2001, Article 14.1 and Presidential Decree 104/2003, Article 18.5, ballot operations were not conducted in 31 consular districts of Venezuela and in a singular consular districts of the Netherlands. This was due to the late arrival of ballot envelopes in Rome, after the start of the official counting process. As Italian law requires that votes cast abroad be counted simultaneously with those cast on national territory, any ballots received after the deadline are excluded from the count and are not considered for voter turnout purposes.

Results

Turnout

Notes

References

External links

* by CGIL * {{Italian elections

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

Constitutional referendums in Italy Referendums in Italy

Referendum initiative

Referendum on labour

Referendum on citizenship

Questions

First question

Second question

Third question

Fourth question

Fifth question

Questions dismissed

Positions

Main political parties

Main trade unions

Referendum committees

Committees for Yes

Committees for No

Civil society and organisations

Student organisations

Campaigns

Communication via mass media

Accusations of restrictions on campaigning

Debates

Polls

Turnout

Questions

Outcome

Results

Turnout

See also

Notes

References

External links