Polls have closed for the confirmatory referendum on the Justice Reform , already approved by Parliament. This reform addresses the structure of the judiciary and introduces, among other things, the separation of careers between judges and public prosecutors and the establishment of a new High Disciplinary Court ( WHAT THE REFORM PROVIDES FOR ). At 11:00 PM, turnout exceeded 46%. The figure, which is constantly updated, is published on the Ministry of the Interior's Eligendo website. Polls will reopen tomorrow morning, Monday, March 23, from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
In Sardinia, with data from 1,847 polling stations, turnout exceeded 39%.
There are 1,320,841 eligible voters on the island, divided into 1,847 polling stations. Voting will take place today (from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM) and tomorrow, Monday, March 23, (from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM). Then, the counting of ballots will begin.
To express consent to the reform, you must tick Yes , while to express opposition to the changes to the Constitution, you must tick No. The referendum is confirmatory: it therefore does not require a quorum.
As for voting by citizens residing abroad, Italians registered with AIRE (the registry of Italians residing abroad) will be able to regularly vote by mail.
The day
Two people reported photographing the referendum ballot in Catanzaro.
They photographed the ballot with the vote cast for the referendum on justice. Two people were subsequently reported, and their votes were annulled. It happened at a polling station in Catanzaro. The presiding judge noticed something was wrong and called the Carabinieri. After initial investigations, the two were reported to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
The voting operations then continued regularly.
Referendum: Emilia Romagna (46%) leads in turnout, Sicily comes in last (28.7%)
With 46.3%, Emilia-Romagna remains the leading region in voter turnout at 7 p.m. Sicily comes in last, with 28.7%. This is according to the Interior Ministry website "Eligendo." The national average is 38.9%. Emilia-Romagna is followed by Lombardy with 45%, Tuscany with 44.7%, and Veneto with 43.2%. Just behind Sicily are Calabria with 29.3% and Campania with 29.9%.
Centenarian votes for Lula
Tension at the FdI headquarters in Prato
Tense moments erupted this morning at the Fdi headquarters in Prato, where three young supporters of the "no" vote in the referendum reportedly broke into the premises. The Prato branch of the Fdi announced this.
The volunteer who was inside the headquarters at the time, a statement explains, attempted to handle the situation calmly and responsibly, eventually managing to remove the three individuals, not without difficulty, after being subjected to insults and explicit death threats. The DIGOS (Italian Special Operations Unit) has been informed of the incident, and the party is confident it will be able to quickly identify those responsible.
Disruption at a polling station in Cagliari
Elevator malfunctions have been reported at the San Michele Primary School on Via Redipuglia and the Francesco Ciusa Middle School on Via Meilogu, Cagliari. Following technical intervention by the maintenance company, it was determined that the issues could not be resolved today and tomorrow. To fully guarantee the right to vote for voters with mobility issues, extraordinary organizational measures have been adopted. Specifically:
- for the “San Michele” School (via Redipuglia), the polling stations located on the first and second floors (nos. 217, 218, 221, 222, 223, 225 and 304) will be made accessible in the ground floor sections nos. 215 and 224;
- For the “Francesco Ciusa” School (via Meilogu), the sections located on the first floor (no. 311 and no. 313) will be made accessible in sections no. 305, no. 307 and no. 308 on the ground floor.
Avs: "Reports of irregularities at the polls"
"We are receiving worrying reports from areas where law enforcement is challenging polling station representatives from the No committee for legitimately using badges with the committee's logo. Meanwhile, across Italy, Brothers of Italy polling station representatives are walking around undisturbed in polling stations with badges featuring a tiny party logo beneath a huge YES sign, in clear violation of the law." This is what the Alleanza Verdi Sinistra (Green Left) stated in a statement. "Furthermore," the Alleanza Verdi Sinistra (Green Left) continued, "there are numerous cases in which, under various specious pretexts, accreditation of polling station representatives appointed by the AVS or the No committees has been prevented or is being prevented. In some cases, they have reportedly been identified by law enforcement and turned away from the polling stations. A significant number of list representatives have been denied entry and will not be able to vote, in total and inexcusable violation of the basic norms and principles of democracy." We ask the Ministry of the Interior to intervene as a matter of urgency to immediately restore the regular conduct of voting operations."
La Russa posts the photo on social media
"Yes, I voted," Senate President Ignazio La Russa wrote on Facebook, also posting a photo of himself at the polling station casting his ballot in the constitutional referendum.
The words of Marina Berlusconi
"It's not a matter of dedications, it's a matter of casting a vote today, to be able to make a positive contribution to the future of this country." Marina Berlusconi, president of Fininvest, said this in a video on the Repubblica website, after the referendum on justice at a polling station in Milan, responding to those who asked her if she was dedicating her vote to her father, Silvio. "Today is an opportunity we can't miss. The dedication is to the Italians, hoping that the 'yes' vote prevails for a civil, democratic, and modern Italy," she added. She will dedicate a dedication to her father "tomorrow, when the results are known," she concluded.
Todde's Vote
Sardinia's President, Alessandra Todde, cast her vote late this morning at the polling station set up at the Ferdinando Podda school in Nuoro: "Voting is the foundation of our democracy. Today, too, on the occasion of the constitutional referendum, every citizen has the opportunity to directly contribute to a decision that affects the future of our institutions. I urge everyone to go to the polls," the president stated after the vote.
(Unioneonline)