Slovenians Say ‘No’ to Govt’s Water Law in Referendum

In a blow to the right-wing government of Janez Jansa, which had proposed the changes, more than 86 per cent voters in a referendum in Slovenia on Sunday rejected the government-proposed Water Law.

Activists and NGOs that initiated the referendum celebrated their overwhelming victory. "What has happened is the awakening of civil society. We are showing that we will react to every authority… And we will always call a referendum if we think something is wrong, no matter what [political] colour the authority is," Nika Kovac, director of the Institute 8th March, said on Sunday after the results were published.

According to the State Electoral Commission, 783,762 voters went to the polls, or 46 per cent of the total number of voters, which is a high turnout in terms of the history of Slovenian referendums.

Laws in Slovenia are rejected in a referendum if the majority vote against it and if the total number of "no" votes represent at least a fifth of all eligible voters. It means that around 340,000 citizens must cast votes against the law. In Sunday's referendum, more than 677,000 people voted against the law.

Reka odločnih ljudi predrla vse jezove. Bravo in hvala! 💧💙 Foto: Aljoša Kravanja pic.twitter.com/YhOrRNeZIc

— Ekologi brez meja (@ocistimo) July 11, 2021

Amendments to the Water Act, proposed by the Jansa government, were adopted by parliament in late March in a shortened procedure, despite criticism by civil society and experts.

In April, environmental activists and other NGOs, worried about contentious provisions that allow the construction of public utility infrastructure in coastal areas, started collecting signatures for a referendum and succeeded in obtaining the required number.