This September, 2020, the Italian Republic held the 4th Constitutional Referendum in its history, requiring citizens to approve or otherwise ‘Amendments to articles 56, 57 and 59 of the Constitution regarding the reduction of the number of parliamentarians’ – a reduction of about one third of the seats in the two branches of the Italian parliament, amounting to 345 seats less in the upcoming legislature.
With a turnout of around 51%, "Yes" won in every single Italian region: the lowest percentage of votes in favour of the reform was 59.57%, recorded in the northern region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, while it reached peaks of 75 - 77% in southern regions such as Sicily, Puglia and Campania. In numerical terms, reform was approved by 70% of the 17,913,089 votes, against 30% "No" (7,692,007 votes).
The main difference between this consultation and the previous three (2001, 2006 and 2016) is that there is no attempt here to reform the state structure: in 2001 the modification regulated the relationship between the state and the regions; and in 2016, a radical overhaul of the tasks and functions of the two Chambers was envisaged. This Referendum is a simple numerical cut of eligible representatives, together with unspecified corrective measures that must accompany this to avoid compromising representation: what it means, when and by what criteria this will be achieved has not been explained by anyone.
