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Official data from almost 90% of polling stations showed that turnout hovered around 30% of eligible voters after two days of voting, well below the 50% plus one required to make the vote valid.

Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party celebrated the referendum's failure.

“The only real goal of this referendum was to bring down the Meloni government," the party said on social media, posting a picture of the main opposition's leaders. “In the end, it was the Italians who brought you down.�

Maurizio Landini, leader of the CGIL trade union that was behind the initiative, acknowledged the defeat.

“We knew it wouldn’t be a walk in the park,� he said. "There is an obvious crisis of democracy and participation."

The proposals wanted to make it easier for children born in Italy to foreigners to obtain citizenship, and provide more job protections.

Campaigners for the change in the citizenship law said it would help second-generation Italians born in the country to non- parents better integrate into a culture they already see as theirs.

The new rules, if passed, would have affected about 2.5 million foreign nationals who still struggle to be recognized as citizens.

Rights at stake

Campaigners said the proposed reforms also would have allowed faster access to civil and political rights, such as the right to vote, eligibility for public employment and freedom of movement within the EU.

Activists and opposition parties denounced the lack of public debate on the measures, accusing the governing coalition of having tried to dampen interest in sensitive issues that directly impact immigrants and workers.

In May, Italy’s AGCOM communications authority lodged a complaint against RAI state television and other broadcasters over a lack of adequate and balanced coverage.

Opinion polls published in mid-May showed that only 46% of Italians were aware of the issues driving the referendums.

“Many believe that the referendum institution should be reviewed in light of the high levels of abstention (that) emerged in recent elections and the turnout threshold should be lowered,� said Lorenzo Pregliasco, political analyst and pollster at YouTrend.