Sunday's referendum on whether
to abolish an extension in off-shore drilling concessions failed
to reach quorum, according to final results released by the
interior ministry on Monday.
The ministry said 15,806,788 people voted, 31.19% of those
who had the right to - well below the quorum of 50% plus one
voter. It said 13,334,764 (85.84%) voted in favour of scrapping
the extensions, while 2,198,805 (14.16%) voted no.
Premier Matteo Renzi, who had said he would not vote and
hoped the referendum failed so jobs were not endangered,
expressed satisfaction. "The winners are the workers," Renzi
said. "The message of this referendum is that being demagogic
does not pay. "This referendum could have been avoided. We tried
to avoid it so as not to waste 300 million euros".
The referendum was proposed by nine regional governments
who expressed concern about the costs in environmental and
safety terms of the extension of 30-year concessions within 12
miles of the coast until their resources are exhausted.
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