Italians reject the Meloni government's justice reform. The referendum saw a No vote win by approximately 2 million votes: 53.74%, compared to 46.26% for the Yes vote. This widens the narrow range of instant polls from all institutions, which had the No vote slightly ahead.
An hour into the count, Youtrend attributed the victory to the opposition, calling the lead "unbridgeable." And in Sardinia, the "No" victory was even clearer, with 59.5%.
The Yes vote wins in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, and Veneto, while the No vote on the Nordio law prevails in the other 17 regions.
A major setback for the government, which will nevertheless "continue" until the end of its term, Giorgia Meloni assures. The opposition is rejoicing, taking to the streets of Rome and looking with renewed energy to the 2027 general election: the primaries will select the prime ministerial candidate.
The turnout
Turnout was high, at 58.9%. In Sardinia, more than half of voters also showed up to the polls (52.8%). The highest turnout was recorded in Emilia-Romagna (66.67%), ahead of Tuscany and Umbria. In Central and Northern Italy, turnout was above 60%, while in the South, it barely exceeded 50%. Calabria (48.3%) and Sicily (46.1%) were the only regions where turnout fell below 50%.
The reactions
"Italians have expressed themselves clearly, and we respect this decision. We fully supported the justice reform that was part of our program. There remains some regret because we missed an opportunity to modernize the country, but we will move forward with responsibility and respect for the Italian people," declared Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni .
Justice Minister Carlo Nordio : "I respectfully acknowledge the sovereign people's decision. Our intention was to definitively implement the project conceived by Giuliano Vassalli with the accusatorial process and enshrined in Article 111 of the Constitution, which defines the judge as a third-party and impartial judge. We have devoted all our energy to explaining, in accessible terms, the complexity of this reform. It is not our intention to attribute political significance to this vote. We thank the electorate that placed their trust in us, and in any case, we are consoled by the high voter turnout, which confirms the solidity of our democracy."
"We have nothing to reproach ourselves for; we kept a promise to the voters. We had a platform that included this, and there was a heavy campaign that attributed things that didn't exist," declared Lucio Malan, leader of the FdI group in the Senate .
Democratic Party Secretary Elly Schlein : "We won; a national majority stopped a flawed reform. An even more wonderful victory because we started from a predicted defeat, and instead we overturned that outcome. Young people made the difference, even though non-resident voters couldn't vote. More right-wing voters voted No than the opposite."
Italia Viva leader Matteo Renzi : "Today a huge political event is taking place. When the people speak, the government must listen. This is an important step for Meloni, who told us she's blessed and blessed by consensus. They chose to do much more than personalize. Today the message, loud and clear, is that there's a resounding defeat, not just for the reasons behind the 'Yes' vote, but for the government and the arrogant way it wanted to implement this reform. Now I hope the center-left advances quickly to the primaries; it's in a position to win the general election."
"We did it! Long live the Constitution!" wrote M5S leader Giuseppe Conte on X. "The referendum result is an eviction notice to the government, after four years. A strong political signal," declared the former Prime Minister, who later ran for the leadership of the progressive camp: "We are open to the prospect of primaries, which should be truly open as an opportunity for citizens to contribute to a broad discussion to identify the most competitive candidate and the best interpreter of the program."
Rosy Bindi , of the No Committee: "The result is for the Constitution. We ran a campaign on the merits to defend the integrity of the Constitution. We will never ask anyone to resign. But receiving popular support doesn't mean governing without respecting the Constitution."
Maurizio Lupi , Noi Moderati: "The reality seems clear to me. The majority of Italians, faced with change, choose conservation. Then we must try to understand the voters. I believe that this majority, even after this result, must take even greater responsibility for seeing the end of the legislature. It must be done, and even more will be done. We have received a political mandate; there will be no political consequences whatsoever."
The contents of the reform
Italians were called to vote on the justice reform approved by the Meloni government, which provides for the separation of careers between prosecutors and judges, the splitting of the Superior Council of the Judiciary, and a new method for electing members of the CSM, who, according to the Nordio law, would be drawn by lot. The measure would also have introduced a High Court for disciplinary proceedings against magistrates.
The positions of the parties
All the majority parties and Carlo Calenda's Action Party were in favor, while all the opposition parties were against. Matteo Renzi, leader of Italia Viva, left his voters free to decide, but on Saturday, the eve of the vote, he announced he would vote no.
(Unioneonline/L)