ROME -- The Italian Supreme Court has approved the request for a constitutional referendum and has said that Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi will now have 60 days to set an official date for the vote.

 The constitutional referendum, amongst other goals, would aim to transform the Senate into a smaller group of local government representatives whose powers would be limited, therefore making it easier to pass legislations and also to save money.

 “Now that the Court of Cassation has accepted the request for a constitutional referendum, Renzi must stop teasing the Italian citizens and immediately indicate the date on which they will be able to go and vote in the referendum,” said members of parliament from the Five Star Movement (M5S) in a joint statement.

 “Any other shameful attempt to postpone the vote indefinitely, on top of those made so far, would represent a serious violation of the rules of democracy and would show a lack of respect towards Italian citizens… we are tired of democracy thieves,” the statement continued. “We understand that Renzi, who first claimed that the referendum would be on October 2, wants Italians to vote only when he is doing positively in the polls, but he has gone far beyond the limit now.”

 Maria Elena Boschi, Minister for Constitutional Reforms and Relations with the Parliament, wrote on twitter after the confirmed approval of the referendum “A green light from the Court of Cassation to the signatures collected by the ‘Yes’ committee! Now it is the citizens’ turn to speak.”

  The government will be able to appeal the decision of the Court of Cassation within a period of ten days after their approval. It will then have 60 days to set a fixed date for the constitutional referendum.

 According to Italian newspaper the Messaggero, the referendum will most likely be chosen to take place on one of the Sundays in November, most probably November 20 or 27.

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