“People always complain about politics, but then they don’t even vote,” lamented Giuseppe Magliulo, an Italian man who has been living in Yangon for the last several months.
He was discussing the aftermath of Italy’s recent constitutional referendum that ended in a victory for the “No” camp by a margin of around 18 percent and the resignation of the country’s prime minister.
“I wanted to make sure I did something with the right I’ve been given,” he said.
And do something he did. Magliulo was among the 1,251,728 Italian voters living abroad who voted in the referendum on December 4. This number constitutes 30.89 percent of the 4,052,341 Italians living abroad, according to the Italian foreign ministry.
While most of these overseas voters submitted their votes by mail, Magliulo was not given that option. Myanmar is among a short list of countries whose postal services are not considered sufficiently secure by the Italian government to deliver votes.
Therefore, in order for Magliulo to participate in the referendum, he would have to show up at his local Italian polling station in the flesh. At first, he thought he’d have to miss the vote. He has a limited number of days off from his job at the Swedish Red Cross, and flights to Italy are pricey.
Luckily, the Italian government provides for people in Magliulo’s situation. Shortly before the day of the referendum, Magliulo received a message from the Italian embassy in Yangon saying the Italian government would cover 75 percent of his travel expenses if he flew back to his home constituency to vote. He took the offer immediately.
(The Italian embassy could not confirm how many other Italians in Myanmar took the offer. Magliulo spoke to Coconuts Yangon voluntarily.)
The eager voter left Myanmar for Rome on Friday, December 2. He made a quick stop in Naples just in time to see SSC Napoli defeat Inter Milan 3-0 on Saturday. While in Naples, he also visited his mother, who had not expected to see him until Christmas.
On Sunday, Magliulo made the 100-kilometer trip from Naples to the village of Prignano Cilento, where he is registered to vote. The town has a population of 997, according to the 2011 census, and according to Magliulo, it is known for having “good mozzarella”.
When he showed up at around 7:30 in the morning to vote, he was one of the first people there. But in a scene familiar to people who were in Myanmar in November 2015, confusion erupted when Magliulo realized that his name was not on the voter list.
He says he had a laugh with the polling officials and other voters when he explained his situation. They did not understand what “Myanmar” was, but they did recognize “Burma”.
Along with 59.11 percent of the people who voted in the referendum, Magliulo says he voted “No” because asking for a wholesale “Yes” to the referendum’s long list of constitutional changes seemed like the wrong way to bring change to the country, though he says change is necessary.
Magliulo returned to Yangon on Tuesday, December 6. He says the Italian government has promised to reimburse 75 percent of his €950 plane ticket, which he can pick up in cash or get wired to his account.
He also shared his gratitude with the Swedish Red Cross, which gave him a special day off so he could fulfill his civic duty.
“Politics is a dirty word in Italy,” Magliulo said, recalling a time when it was common for political parties and criminal organizations to buy votes.
However, he acknowledged that his government’s encouragement of citizens to participate in the democratic process is one thing that made politics a little less dirty.
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