Bulgarian President formally sets local elections, referendum on October 25
Bulgarian President Rossen Plevneliev has signed the decrees that set the date for the first round of local elections on October 25 2015, as well as calling a referendum on electoral rules to be held on the same date, the presidency’s media office said in a statement on August 10.
The announcement came as no surprise, given that Plevneliev had previously said that he would call the elections on that date, but the formal decree must be issued within a specific time frame, under Bulgarian legislation.
Voters will be asked to answer only one question in the plebiscite: “Do you support making it possible to vote from distance using electronic means in elections and referendums?”
Last year, Plevneliev proposed holding a referendum on electoral rules – asking voters whether they approved distance voting, mandatory voting and switching to a majoritarian electoral system – but his proposal was shot down by the previous legislature.
The current National Assembly took up the issues last month, but the questions on mandatory voting and a switch to majoritarian elections did not get enough support in Parliament to make it on the ballot.
(President Rossen Plevneliev photo: president.bg)
