Italians vote in high-stakes justice referendum in key test for Meloni
Al Jazeera
Right-wing PM Giorgia Meloni faces a political test in the two-day referendum on contested judicial reform.
Italians are voting in a two-day referendum on reforms that Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says will make the judiciary more independent but that critics argue will do the opposite.
The vote on Sunday and Monday risks turning into a referendum on the right-wing leader herself before parliamentary elections next year.
Meloni’s government wants to change the Italian Constitution to separate the roles of judges and prosecutors and reform their oversight body. She says the plan is essential to guarantee impartiality and improve the functioning of Italy’s creaky justice system.
It will make it “more modern, more meritocratic, more autonomous, more accountable and, above all, free from political constraints”, Meloni said in a video this past week.
But critics condemn it as a political power grab that fails to address the real challenges, including years-long trials and prison overcrowding.
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