Balgarianovinite.com The parliamentary Committee on Direct Participation of Citizens, Citizens’ Complaints and Interaction with Civil Society approved on first reading the bill to amend and supplement the Direct Citizen Participation in State and Local Government Act tabled by Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov and a group of MPs. The changes, which concern the procedure for initiating and proposing referendums, were supported by five votes in favour and three abstentions.
Vazrazhdane MP Dimitar Gyurev noted that the bill was tabled on December 12, 2024, and only now has the time come for it to be considered. Its goal is to simplify the procedure for holding a referendum and to expand the range of issues that can be put to a vote. The restriction on national referendums deciding on issues regulated in international treaties concluded by Bulgaria after their ratification is being removed. The threshold for signatures required to hold debates in the National Assembly will also be changed from 200,000 to 50,000. The number of signatures required to hold a mandatory national referendum will be changed from 400,000 to 100,000, Gyurev added.
Vazrazhdane MP Dimo Drenchev stated that the current law is highly restrictive. “Our party’s policy is to move towards more frequent local and national referendums,” he added.
Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria MP Petar Kyosev said that it is important how the organizers will approach the information campaign for collecting signatures and holding referendums. In his words, a referendum is a tool that should not be abused by politicians. Kyosev said that referendums should not be used on all matters and cited Brexit as a negative example.
GERB-UDF MP and Chair of the Committee on Direct Participation of Citizens, Rositsa Kirova, shared that she has participated in civil initiatives for holding a referendum. She added: “What is preventing us and what we lack is adequate regulations on how to present the arguments ‘in favour’ and ‘against’ on a specific issue.” She emphasized that adequate information campaigns are a must. Kirova said that she would back the bill, but that it needs to be refined before the second reading.
Velichie MP Stiliana Bobcheva said she supports the bill. She added: “We believe that the people should be consulted. This is an instrument of democracy that we must utilize.”
Zahari Yankov, Chair of the Public Council to the Commission, called on MPs to reconsider their positions because, in his opinion, there has been no real public debate on the proposed bill. “A referendum is a good thing, but we must be very careful with it,” he said. In his opinion, such a bill should be adopted by a stable National Assembly and proposed by the Council of Ministers, which would allow for a longer period of discussion. Parliamentary Committee Backs at First Reading Bill to Change Referendum Rules 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-22 16:13:58 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
