Citizenship referendum fails in Italy

A referendum on easing citizenship rules and strengthening labour laws in Italy has failed due to low voter turnout, in a win for Giorgia Meloni, whose government urged people to boycott it.

Over 50 percent of voters had to participate to validate the two-day referendum but by close of polls on Monday just over 30 percent of those eligible had done so.

The referendum proposal, triggered by a grassroots campaign and backed by the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), would have reduced the time it takes to get citizenship.

A non-EU adult resident without marriage or blood ties to Italy must currently live in the country for 10 years before they can apply -- a process which can then take years more.

A referendum win would have cut this to five years, putting Italy in line with Germany and France.

But Prime Minister Meloni, whose far-right Brothers of Italy party has prioritised cutting irregular immigration even as her government has increased the number of migrant work visas, had said she was "absolutely against" the idea.