Voters will be asked whether they approve a constitutional law that amends the Italian Constitution in various aspects, most notably reducing the number of MPs in parliament, from 630 to 400 in the Chamber of Deputies and from 315 to 200 in the Senate.

The referendum will be held in Italy on September 20 and 21, while Italians registered with the Registry of Italians Residing Abroad (AIRE), or Italian citizens temporarily residing overseas for work, study or medical reasons, must submit their votes to their relevant consulate by September 15.

Initially scheduled to be held on March 29, the referendum was postponed following the spread of the coronavirus in Italy and the consequent nationwide lockdown.

Parliament last October approved the proposal, which calls for the reduction of the number of parliamentarians by a third, the first major reform by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s second coalition government.

An overwhelming majority of 553 lawmakers voted in favour, while only 14 voted against.

The proposal was a main 2018 campaign promise by the Five Star Movement (M5S) in an effort to reduce the costs of politics and to slash privileges for lawmakers, with the total reduction in costs for the taxpayers being estimated between €285 million and €500 million per five-year parliamentary term. 

However, critics have slammed these numbers as “petty figures”, and argue that the reduction in the number of parliamentarians would decrease democratic representation, lowering the number of lawmakers per 100,000 inhabitants from 1.6 to 1, compared to Germany’s 0.9 ratio, France’s 1.4 ratio, and the United Kingdom’s 2.1 ratio.

The reform would also affect Italians living abroad, as they would have less representation in Rome.

Italy is one of the few legislatures in the world to reserve seats in parliament for citizens residing overseas.

The system was set up in 2001, and gives expatriate communities the power to elect a regional representative and have a voice in the Italian parliament.

The Italian government recognises four overseas electorates: Europe, North and Central America, South America and the rest of the world: Africa, Asia, Oceania and Antarctica.

Out of the 945 seats in Italy’s two houses of parliaments, they represent a total of 18 seats – 12 in the Chamber of Deputies and six in the Senate of the Republic.

Two of those 18 seats – one in each house – represent the interests of the Africa, Asia, Oceania and Antarctic region, to which Australia belongs.

It means that those in that electorate, including Italo-Australians, are able to vote for one senator and one MP to represent them in Rome.

However, if the upcoming reform is approved in the constitutional referendum, the number of MPs elected in the overseas constituencies would drop from 12 to eight, while the number of senators elected in the overseas constituencies would fall from six to four.

Subsequently, those in the Africa, Asia, Oceania and Antarctic region would be represented by just one MP in the Chamber of Deputies, and would lose their representative in the Senate altogether.

With approximately five million Italians residing abroad, their vote in the referendum will have a significant impact on the results and play an important role in this chapter of Italy’s history.

Eligible voters residing overseas have received the ballot paper, along with instructions on how to vote, in the post.

If overseas voters haven’t already received their forms, they should contact their relevant consulate.

All votes should be submitted by September 15, 4:00 pm local time.

For more information, head to the website of your relevant consulate or visit the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.