Life Senator and Holocaust survivor
Liliana Segre has said she will vote against cutting the number
of members of the Italian parliament.
On Sunday and Monday Italians will vote in a referendum on
whether to approve a constitutional law that amends the Italian
Constitution to reduce the number of MPs in parliament, from 630
to 400 in the Chamber of Deputies and from 315 to 200 in the
Senate.
It was initially scheduled to be held on 29 March but had to be
postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"There are good reasons both for the yes vote and the no vote,"
Segre told La Repubblica.
"I am inclined to vote no, above all out of coherence with my
general attitude towards parliament.
"I entered like you do when you go into a temple because
parliament is the highest expression of democracy.
"So hearing this institution, which is part of my civil
religion, talked about as if it were all a question of costs and
positions, is not something that is part of me".
In addition to the referendum, elections are also taking place
in seven regions.
They are Veneto, Campania, Tuscany, Liguria, Marche, Puglia
and Valle d'Aosta.
Municipal elections will take place in 1,149 comuni across
Italy too.
Some 18 provincial capitals will go to the polls: Agrigento,
Andria, Aosta, Arezzo, Bolzano, Chieti, Crotone, Enna, Fermo,
Lecco, Macerata, Mantua, Matera, Nuoro, Reggio Calabria, Trani,
Trento and Venice.
Three of these are also regional capitals: Aosta, Trento and
Venice.
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