In recent weeks, the political debate between the centre-right and the centre-left seems to have focused, among other things, on the referendum issue, focusing in particular on the invitation, addressed to citizens, coming from the government coalition to abstain from voting (with the exception of Noi Moderati which, according to the media, seems to have announced its participation in the referendum consultation to express its "no"), and the invitation, instead, from the opposition parties to go to the polls due to the importance and general interest reflected in the five referendum questions.

: While it is understood that voting is a right and a civic duty constitutionally guaranteed by Article 48 of our Constitutional Charter and that it is based on the so-called universal suffrage achieved in the now distant 1946, and while it is equally understood that there is no obligation in this sense, that is, every citizen is free to exercise or not that right and civic duty, nevertheless abstentionism, in and of itself considered, also legitimate, would seem to qualify, especially in recent years, as a form of protest, if not exactly, perhaps (the dubious formula imposes itself), as a concrete manifestation of an "indifference" attributable, with good likelihood, to a feeling of distrust with respect to politics and its dynamics, but also with respect to the decision-making power of the individual, and for it of the population that, in the past, would sometimes seem to have seen the expression of its will thwarted.

But, regardless of what the free and legitimate choice of citizens will be on the matter, wouldn't it be preferable to express one's intention in terms of "yes" or "no" in a clear manner, whatever it may be?

On 8 and 9 June 2025, Italian citizens will be able, if they wish, to go to the polls to express their position on the five abrogative referendum questions, four of which concern work and one citizenship. In essence, with the aforementioned abrogative referendums, the decision on whether or not to approve the cancellation of a certain law or part of it was intended to be left to the citizens' evaluation and sensitivity. In their enunciation, the questions would seem difficult to understand since they are expressed, inevitably, in the form of a normative reference, nor could it have been otherwise. And precisely for this reason, understanding the importance of voting could not fail to pass through a timely information and explanatory campaign aimed, with good verisimilitude, at making the population feel like participants in the institutions, regaining their trust. Even more so when, for the validity and effectiveness of the referendum consultation, pursuant to Article 75 of the Constitution, it is necessary that the majority of the population entitled to vote go to the polls, that is, to put it another way in percentage terms, 50% plus one. And even more so when the element of novelty compared to previous referendum consultations, and which appears to respond to the need to encourage the greatest possible participation, is represented by the circumstance that the so-called "out-of-town" voters will be able to express themselves without having to return to their city.

With the five referendum questions, therefore, also widely explained through the media and respectively titled with the words "Stop unlawful dismissals", "More protection for workers in small businesses", "Reduction of precarious work", "More safety at work", "More integration with Italian citizenship", beyond any potential and possible political evaluation, the population would seem to be invited to express itself on relevant issues that affect the daily lives of most people, regardless of their personal preference for the centre-right or centre-left forces which, in the specific content of the referendum consultation, would seem (the conditional seems necessary) to take a back seat.

Voting, in democratic societies, always represents the formal expression of one's thoughts, the most precise way to make one's voice heard, the maximum form of participation in the country's choices.

Giuseppina Di Salvatore – Lawyer, Nuoro

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