Bulgarian President Criticises Parliament for Ignoring Citizens' Will

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said on Tuesday that the decision of the parliament to include only the question on electronic voting in the forthcoming referendum, did not take into full account the will of the nation to define the rules on the election of its representatives.

Plevneliev reminded that more than half a million Bulgarians had supported in a petition the holding of a referendum on three questions of considerable importance not only for the election process, but also for the democratic development of the country.

The statement, published by the presidential press service, notes that the constitution clearly sets out the roles and responsibilities of everyone in order to ensure the proper functioning of direct democracy.

The final decision rested with the National Assembly and each of the parliamentary represented parties was responsible for its actions.

The Head of State believes that at the forthcoming referendum, Bulgarian citizens will show through their activity that their opinion is important and that they wish to be active participants in the taking of decisions important for the country.

Plevneliev expressed gratitude to all MPs, who supported his proposal for the holding of a referendum on the electoral rules.

The president had proposed for three questions to be featured in the referendum – introduction of majority voting, compulsory voting and electronic voting.

However the MPs rejected on Tuesday two of the questions and voted in favour only for the inclusion of electronic voting.

Thus, this will be the sole question to appear on the referendum, which will be held simultaneously with the local elections on October 25.

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