A nationwide

abrogative referendum A popular referendum (also known, depending on jurisdiction, as citizens' veto, people's veto, veto referendum, citizen referendum, abrogative referendum, rejective referendum, suspensive referendum or statute referendum)Maija SetäläReferendum ...

was held in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on 12 and 13 June 2011, on four questions concerning the repeal of recent laws regarding the privatisation of water services (two questions), a return to the

nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity * Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy ...

which had been phased out after the 1987 referendum, and

criminal procedure Criminal procedure is the adjudication process of the criminal law. While criminal procedure differs dramatically by jurisdiction, the process generally begins with a formal criminal charge with the person on trial either being free on bail or ...

, specifically a provision exempting the Prime Minister and the Ministers from appearing in court. The first aim of those campaigning for a yes vote was to ensure that the quorum (50% + 1) of the electorate was reached. Collecting the needed 500,000 signatures started in April 2010. In two months che signatures deposited where 1,4 milion. The Italian Supreme Court (

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case, they only interpret the relevant law. In this they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In th ...

) validated two questions about water issues in January 2011 and ruled the referendum to be held on 12–13 June 2011. The Italians with the right to vote numbered 47,118,352 (22,604,349 men and 24,514,003 women), in addition to 3,300,496 Italians resident abroad. In order for the quorum to be reached, at least 25.209.425 votes for each question had to be cast. Turnout, while below general election records, was higher than it had been for any referendum since 1995; on 12 June 2011, turnout had reached 11.64% at midday, and 30.32% at 19.00, indicating that the necessary quorum would likely be reached. When polls closed on 13 June 2011, turnout was 56.9%, with clear majorities of 94.6% to 96.1% in favour on all questions, meaning that about 53,8% to 54,7% of electorate approved them.

Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

, the then-

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, implicitly invited to boycott the vote in the hope that the required quorum would not be met.

Position of main political parties

Parties with parliamentary representation

ND = no direction.

High offices of the Republic

The President of the Republic

Giorgio Napolitano Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...

declared he would take part to the referendums, without revealing his intentions regarding the votes. The President of the Senate of the Republic

Renato Schifani Renato Maria Giuseppe Schifani (; born 11 May 1950
.) is an Italian politician who has served as the

underlined the importance of the vote as a form of democratic participation and said he would vote. The President of the Chamber of Deputies

Gianfranco Fini Gianfranco Fini (born 3 January 1952) is an Italian politician who served as the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2008 to 2013. He is the former leader of the far-right Italian Social Movement, the conservative National Allianc ...

declared he would vote. The President of the Council of ministers

declared he would not vote. His statement, "the Constitution gives the right to citizens to say yes or no to the referendum, but also to say 'I do not mind this question, I do not vote'", was considered an implicit invitation for his electorate to abstain, so that the referendums would fail quorum.

Privatization of water services

* Ballot Colour: Red. * Description: Repeal of the law that allowed the private sector to be entrusted the management of local public services.

Profit on water services

* Ballot Colour: Yellow * Description: Repeal of the regulations governing the determination of tariffs for water supply services, in the part where they provided that the amount must assure a return on the invested capital.

Nuclear power

* Ballot Colour: grey. * Description: Repeal of the new laws that allowed the operation of nuclear powerplants on Italian territory.

Legal impediment

* Ballot Colour: green. * Description: Repeal of the provisions introducing ''legittimo impedimento'', which allowed the President of the Council of Ministers and the Ministers to be excused from appearing in court if prevented from doing so by government commitments.

Results by region

References

{{Italian elections Referendums in Italy 2011 referendums 2011 elections in Italy Nuclear technology in Italy Nuclear power in Italy Nuclear power referendums Privatisation referendums Privatisation in Italy June 2011 events in Italy