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Pro-independence movement puts pressure on Veneto Council ahead of vote on referendum

Assembly to decide on 17th September on the holding of a non-binding vote · Proposal wants the referendum to be held on 6th October · 10% of Veneto municipalities support the idea

Pro-independence organizations are mobilising in order to put pressure on the Veneto Regional Council before a vote on self-determination. Veneto councilors need to vote on a proposal to call a consultative referendum on the independence of Veneto from Italy. The proposal was put forward by councilor Stefano Valdegamberi in April. It should have been voted in July, but the vote was then postponed. Yesterday it was known that the vote will finally be held on September 17th.

Several pro-independence parties and associations are trying to convince the councilors that they should vote "yes" to the holding of the referendum. Starting in July, Indipendenza Veneta, Liga Veneta Repubblica and Veneto Stato parties and 16° Reggimento Treviso and Raixe Venete associations have established the campaign Il Veneto Decida ('Let Veneto Decide') The campaign members are meeting today in order to agree on a calendar of mobilisations in order to exert pressure on the Veneto Council members.

Yet another platform, Plebiscito 2013, is trying to lobby councilors so that give the green light to the referendum. The platform is led by Lodovico Pizzati, secretary-general of Indipendenza Veneta, the party that started the process to hold the referendum.

No party majority in Council

No party currently holds a majority in the Veneto Council. Out of 60 members, Liga Veneta-Lega Nord is the single largest party, with 18 members. One of them is Veneto president Luca Zaia, who on the one hand has said he would vote in favour of holding the referendum, but on the other he has proposed a political reform so that Veneto stays in the Italian Republic with an enlarged self-government.

Lega Nord political ally People of Freedom has 17 councilors. The Democratic Party holds 13 seats. Both parties are opposed to Veneto independence. Valdegamberi's party Popular Future only has 3 councilors. Indipendenza Veneta has no councilors in the assembly.

If the referendum proposal was accepted as Valdegamberi introduced it, the vote should be held on 6th October. Taking into consideration that a referendum like this needs at least several months of preparation and campaign, it seems unlikely that the vote could be held on that day.

The actions in favour of the referendum are also taking place at the local level. Up to now, 55 Veneto municipalities are officially supporting the holding of the referendum, which amounts to approximately 10% of all Veneto municipalities.

In the event of independence, Veneto would share borders with the remaining Italian Republic and Austria. The secession of Veneto would leave Friuli-Venezia Giulia as an exclave of Italy, completely surrounded by Veneto, Austria, Slovenia and the sea.

The Italian Constitution makes it clear that the republic is "one and indivisible", thus making Veneto independence an unconstitutional matter. But proponents of independence argue that the right of self-determination of peoples is a legal principle that cannot be ignored in this case, especially bearing in mind that Venetians are officially recognized as a "people" ("popolo", in the original Italian text) by the Statute of Autonomy of Veneto.