ROME — Italian citizens will have a chance to repeal labour and citizenship laws in a high-stakes referendum weekend, but with turnout expected to fall below the required 50%, the votes may not count.

This weekend, Italians can vote in five rather technical referendums covering issues ranging from labour rights to citizenship. But low public awareness and poor turnout projections threaten to sink them - a result the government may be quietly banking on, having urged abstention instead of a clear “No” vote.

A mid-May Demopolis poll found just 46% of Italians were aware of the referendums, while Ipsos put the figure at a slightly higher 62%. Turnout projections are even bleaker: Just 30% of Demopolis respondents said they planned to vote, while only 28% of Ipsos respondents said they w

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