MOSCOW (Sputnik) – In the yes or no referendum, Italian voters are being asked whether they want to stop offshore drilling concessions from being renewed after expiry, Il Ponente online newspaper reported.
nationwide referendum on oil drilling in Italy today, the prime minister initially opposed the idea of ppl deciding #referendumtrivelle
— Trycia Bazinet (@Tyrante1111) 17 April 2016
Running from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. local time (06:00 — 22:00 GMT), the referendum must see a turnout of at least 50 percent in order to become valid.
Sei andato a votare? Se non lo hai fatto fallo subito e se lo hai fatto convinci qualcuno a farlo. Dobbiamo… https://t.co/XvcPn1lq94
— Danilo Toninelli (@DaniloToninelli) 17 April 2016
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi reportedly urged voters to boycott the referendum, arguing that a successful yes-vote would lead to the country to heaver dependence on energy imports and cost thousands of jobs.
I hope #Italians are voting today and rejecting oil drilling in their divine country. That beauty should not be taken for granted.#Italy
— Stevan Randjelovic (@stevan_r) 17 April 2016
By early afternoon, the turnout came to a national average of 8.3 percent, with slightly higher figures in southern Italy, Il Sussidiario online news outlet reported. The turnout may yet increase significantly in late afternoon, the publication added.
The poll is being conducted in accordance with the right to scrap legislation by popular vote provided by Italy's constitution.
There is a very important #referendum in Italy this weekend and no one is reporting on it.
— Thomas de Groot (@ThomasPiraat) 15 April 2016
In December, Renzi's government extended existing 30-year offshore drilling concessions until resource exhaustion. If the decision is scrapped, concessions would expire over the coming decades and drilling would stop, as no new concessions are being awarded.
The referendum was declared after a campaign by nine regional governments, mostly led by Renzi's own Democratic Party.
