Bulgaria Referendum Turnout Falls Short of Threshold to Make Result Binding

The referendum on the political system may fall short of the turnout needed to make the results mandatory, pollster Alpha Research says.

The three-point national poll will be 100 000 votes below the threshold that will be binding, which, under the law, is at least 3.5 million for this particular referendum - or at least the number of people who cast ballots in the last parliamentary elections.

Alpha Research's projected activity is nearly 50.3%, but it does not reflect results for each of the questions which will be calculated separately. 

Voters were asked on Sunday to have a say on three issues - the introduction of a majority voting system, compulsory voting, and a slash in state subsidies handed per vote to political parties - alongside the presidential election. 

Regarless of the final figures, with more than two million people having voted, and an overwhelming support for all three issues, Parliament will have to hold a debate and vote on the questions. This applies to all all national polls where voter turnout was above 20%.    

Official activitty statistics are due later on Monday.