Balgarianovinite.com The National Assembly has approved at first reading a bill to amend and supplement the Direct Citizen Participation in State and Local Government Act. Some of the draft provisions foresee making it easier to collect signatures and submit proposals for holding referendums.
The bill was submitted by MP Toshko Yordanov (There Is Such a People, TISP) and a group of other MPs. The first-reading vote was 143 votes in favour, 6 against, and 24 abstentions.
The bill proposes that the approach to local referendums should also be applied to national referendums, according to the report of the Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs. It foresees removing the requirement for citizens to indicate a permanent address when signing a proposal for a national referendum. Another proposal concerns the timeframe for collecting and submitting signatures. It is also proposed that newly elected parliaments or municipal councils be notified in writing of any ongoing referendum procedure, in order to remove the obligation to terminate a referendum due to the expiry of the tenure of the relevant National Assembly or municipal council. Some proposals also relate to the minimum number of signatures required and the validity criteria for referendums.
Nataliya Kiselova (BSP – United Left) said that her parliamentary group supports the bill. She noted that over the years the law has evolved, making conditions for referendums easier.
Alexander Rashev (TISP) stated that the party included the issue of citizens’ direct participation in government and local self-government in its statute. His colleague Stanislav Balabanov added that the purpose of direct democracy is to allow people to be consulted more often on issues important to them or to the country.
Yavor Bozhankov (Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria, CC-DB) commented that a referendum is an instrument that should not be abused, citing the example of Brexit in the United Kingdom. Bozhankov also noted that TISP’s motion comes in a pre-election context. Atanas Slavov (CC-DB) said the topic is too important to be discussed in the final weeks of the National Assembly and therefore abstained from support.
Georgi Georgiev (Vazrazhdane) stated that his party has always supported changes to facilitate the procedure for holding referendums.
The debate on the amendments was interrupted several times due to requests for breaks. Legislative Changes Concerning Referendums Pass at First Reading 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-14 17:37:48 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law