Italy votes on five referendum questions addressing citizenship and labour laws. A turnout of 50% or more is needed for validation.
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Italian citizens are going to the polls on Sunday and Monday to vote on five questions, including changes to the southern European country's citizenship and labour laws.
The referendum, proposed by trade unions and civic organisations, addresses issues that have generated political debate in Italy in recent years, particularly labour market reform, primarily the 2016 Labour Act, as well as migrant reception and integration policies.
The first four questions relate to labour issues and concern the increasing protection of workers, small enterprises and their obligations towards employees, short-term contracts, and the responsibility of clients towards subcontracting parties and employees’ safety.
The fifth question concerns the period of time necessary for non-EU nationals residing in the country to be eligible for Italian citizenship, proposing to reduce it from 10 to five years.
The parties of the ruling coalition, led by Premier Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, have opposed the referendum, with some politicians urging citizens not to participate in the vote.
For the referenda to be valid, a quorum must be reached: at least 50% plus one of all eligible voters must participate.
According to the advocacy group International Democracy Community, although opposition parties have supported the referendum, it is primarily a citizens' initiative and not a political matter.
"The referendum questions were proposed through a bottom-up approach, and did not come from parliament," the International Democracy Community said in a statement.
"Members of the Europa+ party launched the initiative on the citizenship question, whilst the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL) has been the initiator of the Labour Act ones, with support from the Democratic Party, the Five Star Movement, and the Green and Left Alliance."
Voting has started at 7 am on Sunday and is set to end by 3 pm on Monday.
At noon on Sunday, turnout stood at just over 7%, raising concerns about a successful outcome. In 2011, the last time a referendum in Italy resulted in a quorum, 11.6% had voted by that time.
The referendum coincides with local elections in several Italian regions and municipalities.