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Exit polls suggest Italy has voted to reduce the size of the country’s parliament by more than a third.
State broadcaster R.I. An estimated 67% of people voted in favor of change.
The number of MPs in the lower house will be reduced from 4 63 63 to 100. The size of the Senate will also be reduced.
The referendum was pushed by the Five Star Movement, part of the governing coalition, which argued that the move would reduce costs.
The move was already pushed by Parliament, reducing the total number of MPs and senators from 945 to 600.
But it needed to be endorsed by a referendum because it amended the constitution. Changes will have to be made before the 2023 elections.
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Senior five-star celebrity Foreign Minister Luigi Di Mayo called the result “historic.”
“With fewer facilities and 5 fewer seats, we will be able to return to the general parliament,” he said.
Last October, Five Star said streamlining parliament would save the country 1bn (9 918 million) in 10 years.
Critics, however, argue that the move would weaken democracy.
The referendum was held with very few regional elections.
Right-wing opposition leader Matteo Salvini said he was aiming for a clean sweep although his party seemed to benefit – the eastern region of March. He remained in charge of the other two territories.
The center-left Democratic Party has three areas that it already rules, including Tuscany.
