Feature: Italians vote in key constitutional referendum with different expectations

Italians on Sunday were taking part in a crucial referendum on whether or not amend the country's constitution.

The proposed reform will be definitively confirmed or rejected by the citizens' vote. If confirmed, it would reshape the country's institutional profile.

According to Article 138 of the Constitution, a referendum was called because the constitutional law had not been approved by a qualified majority of two-thirds in each house of parliament in the second vote.

The constitutional amendment will not become law unless it receives the support of a majority of votes cast in the referendum.

This is the third constitutional referendum in the history of the Italian Republic. The other two were in 2001 (in which the amending law was approved) and in 2006 (in which it was rejected).

The referendum campaign has been very tense, and many of the 61,551 polling stations across the country looked quite busy during the day. Overall, some 46.7 million citizens were overall eligible to vote.

"I voted in favor, because the reasons of the reformist front sounded more convincing to me," 72-year-old Maria told Xinhua, as she left a station poll in Rome's historic center.

A man voting in the same station unveiled opposite expectations: "We Italians are lucky enough to have a good constitution... Let us not play with it like children," 81-year-old Claudio said.

Besides the proposed constitutional changes, the referendum has wider implications. Having much advocated the reform, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has vowed to resign in case of a "No" victory.

In addition, the "No" side has been led by Eurosceptic Five Star Movement (M5S), currently the second most popular force after Renzi's center-left Democratic Party (PD).

If the country rejects the reform, it would be seen as another signal of the rise of populist forces in Europe, some six months after Britain's referendum vote to leave the EU.

Some voters seemed aware of these implications, others preferred to make their choice strictly on the content of the reform.

"I voted No, and with absolute belief: not against Matteo Renzi, although I certainly do not like him, but because I think this reform is not at all necessary to our country now," Massimo, a 52-year-old employee, told Xinhua.

On the contrary, Laura, 44, voted Yes, and especially because she did not like the fact that "this referendum has become a vote in favor or against the prime minister."

The most significant changes of the reform concern Italy's law-making process, parliament composition, and balance of power between central state and regions.

If the reform is confirmed, the Italian senate will be demoted into a smaller assembly in charge of regional affairs, and its seats will be cut from 315 to 100; it would lose its current law-making equal status with the chamber of deputies, its power to bring down the cabinet, and vote on budget laws and other major national legislation.

As such, draft bills would not need to shuttle anymore between the two chambers until both of them agree on an identical text. In addition, the cabinet will depend on the confidence of the lower house only. Endit