Legal Affairs Committee

Members of the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee adopted on Tuesday amendments to the Referendum Act lowering the number of citizens' signatures required for initiating national polls.

The Bulgarian MPs decided to lower the number of signatures from 500 000 to 400 000, daily Dnevnik reports.

Expats will be able to cast ballots in the voting rules referendum that is due this autumn, since it will coincide with local elections, an MP has said.

Center-right GERB party, the biggest in Parliament, is to preside over the two temporary committees with the National Assembly formed Wednesday.

The decision was announced a few hours ahead of MPs' first regular plenary session after the legislature was convened on Monday.