Italy’s Giorgia Meloni has conceded defeat in a referendum on her justice reforms, while confirming she would continue as prime minister, Aljazeera reported. 

With almost all votes counted, the provisional result from Sunday and Monday’s constitutional referendum put the “No” camp at about 53.5 percent, and “Yes” at about 46.5 percent, with a higher-than-expected turnout of more than 58 percent.

“The Italians have decided. And we respect this decision,” Meloni said in a statement on X on Monday, alongside a video, saying the result of the referendum was “a lost opportunity to modernise Italy”.