Apathy defeats Italian reforms

The referendum failed as voters stayed away

Partial results from a series of referendums in Italy suggest that efforts to reform the country's electoral system have again failed because of a low turn-out.

With most of the votes counted, the Interior Ministry has said that only about 33% of voters had gone to the polls - much lower than the 50% needed for the result to be valid. A similar vote last year was declared invalid for the same reason.

The key vote in the referendum concerned whether Italians wanted to scrap the system of proportional representation in general elections.

Voters were asked seven questions in all to do with electoral reform and the reform of the judiciary.

It was estimated that it took some voters up to half an hour just to read through the complicated referendum proposals.

Reforms shelved

The failed referendum postpones any further moves towards electoral reform until after next year's general election.

Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi casts his ballot

Supporters of the abolition of proportional representation said it would bring more stability to Italy's political system, which has seen 58 governments come and go since World War II.

Smaller parties opposed the proposal because they feared they could disappear under the new system. The smaller parties, of which there are about 40 in Italy, asked their supporters to boycott the vote.

Currently a quarter of the members of parliament are chosen proportionally, and the remainder by first-past-the-post.

Today was a sad day for Italy

Deputy Mario Segni

Supporters of the referendum conceded defeat shortly after the close of voting.

"Today was a sad day for Italy," said deputy Mario Segni. "The results will not help towards the stability of the country. It is a big step backwards."

Those who did vote appear to have supported the reform proposals, but they were not sufficient to create the necessary quorum.

Another vote asked Italians whether they wanted state funding of political parties abolished.

Three votes focused on reforming the judiciary and two others on reforming the labour market.